


Shadows of the Past

by witchofink



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Astra is alive, Depression, F/F, Fluff, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Karamel break up chapter six, Slow Burn, Supercorp endgame, mon-el is a meanie, self destructive behavior
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 08:45:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 65,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchofink/pseuds/witchofink
Summary: Kara never told anyone except for her cousin until she had to trade a secret with her aunt to save Hank. She had never told anyone and had planned to keep it that way until she could figure out how to tell those she loved. Kara Danvers had never told anyone that she had a six year old daughter named Anya. Now, her daughter refuses to live with anyone but her mother and Kara is forced into a situation she thought she wouldn't face until later. Will the shadows of her past snuff out the sun or will she be able to be saved from the past trauma she had been running from?





	1. Chapter One

_ “I was eighteen.” _

_ Kara stood in front of Astra’s cell at the DEO, her body tense with anxiety as she hugged herself. Her aunt had agreed to share the location of where they were holding Hank, but only if she was told something of equal value. That's what led Kara to stand before her Kryptonite-weakened aunt in complete privacy. A shaky breath passed Kara’s lips as she closed her eyes and took out her cell phone. _

_ “I was eighteen,” Kara repeated, her voice trembling as she stepped closer to Astra’s cell. Astra pushed herself up as confusion and concern showed on her face. She paused again, taking a deep breath and trying to hold herself together. “I was eighteen when I had Anya.” Kara opened her eyes and pulled up a picture of a five year old girl with wavy blonde hair and big blue eyes, a spray of freckles speckling her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She put the screen up against the glass, mostly to keep her hand from shaking. _

_ “Kara,” Astra breathed as the new information sunk in. The older woman stood up and walked over to the glass that the screen was pressed against. She looked at the image of the girl and at her niece. “How? What happened?” _

_ Kara pulled back her hand and glanced down at the image of her daughter. “I was at college and I was invited to this party. It was loud and just too much of everything. This guy noticed I seemed to be uncomfortable, so he led me upstairs to somewhere more quiet. I thought he was being nice and we started to talk.” Kara paused as tears started to blur the image on the phone and she locked up, blinking away tears. “And then he k-kissed me and I was shocked and I-I just knew I couldn't risk outing myself by using my powers. I didn't even think of doing anything physical to stop him I was so scared and shocked. Then the next thing I knew, it was, it was over.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she felt nausea take root in her stomach. “I-I never told anyone except for Cl- Kal-El because I needed help finding someone to take her in. I c-couldn't take care of her even though I wanted t-to. But I-I see her every weekend a-and every holiday.” _

_ Kara couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she fell to her knees, sobbing. Astra felt tears roll down her own face as well and she placed a hand on the glass wanting nothing more than to hold her niece. “Shhh, little one,” Astra murmured in attempt to comfort Kara. Astra continued to murmur comforting words from her side of the glass until her voice cracked at the sight of her beloved niece crumpled on the floor in tears. She banged on the glass and called out, “Agent Danvers, I’m ready to tell you the location!” _

_ Luckily, Alex heard and entered the room. She was shocked to see Kara sobbing on the ground and quickly moved to wrap her arms around her sister. “Kara, it's okay. I got you.” The brown eyed agent looked at Astra, eyes narrowed, and waited expectantly for the location as she continued to comfort Kara. _

_ “They are at Fort Rozz located in the place you humans call Nevada,” Astra told Alex while keeping her eyes Kara. _

_ ~~~~~~~~~ _

_ Half a year later… _

“How could you bring her here without telling me?” Kara was furious, which was something she rarely was or enjoyed being, and if her daughter wasn't asleep on the couch she would have been yelling rather than the harsh whispering she was using instead. “Clark, she can't be here. What if Alex or Eliza appear and she's here. I still haven't told them yet about Anya.” Kara took off her glasses and set them down so she could rub at her face. What if Mon-El found her? Everyone would know about the small child wrapped up in one of Kara’s quilts about ten seconds afterward if he ever found out.

“Kara, you have to tell them,” Clark told her as if it was as easy as he made it out to be. “And Anya has run away trying to come see you too many times, my parents are tired of it.”

“What was I supposed to do, Clark? Never see her? Pretend she didn't exist?” Kara winced at the volume and harshness of her voice and she glanced at Anya on the couch. “I'll tell them. I've been thinking of having her move in with me and I feel bad making the Kents deal with her running away every time I leave or every time she sees me on the news.” Kara was exhausted from dealing with Snapper and from finding her cousin and daughter in her apartment, so figuring out how to tell Alex and Eliza would have to wait. Getting Anya settled in would be exhausting as well, but it has been six years since she handed Anya over to Clark. It had been six years without her daughter in her life every day. Perhaps it was time to change that.

“You do have Astra across the hall,” Clark pointed out reminding Kara of how her aunt was moved into her apartment at her request. After the whole Myriad issue had been dealt with, Astra having played a part in taking down Indigo and Non, the DEO allowed Astra to be released from her cell as long as she wore bracelets with a small amount of Kryptonite to dampen her powers and if she reported to the DEO daily. “She might have those Kryptonite bracelets but she would know-”

“Kara, are you ready for Sister Night? I brought- Clark.” Alex stood in the doorway of Kara’s apartment, a bag of Chinese food hanging from one wrist as she held a box of pizza. Kara mentally cursed herself for having forgotten to message Alex to cancel but it had completely slipped her mind to do so. “What are you doing here?” Alex moved to walk inside, confusion on her face seeing the Man of Steel in her sister’s apartment.

“Alex, you need to go,” Kara said, her anxiety over Alex discovering the sleeping child on her couch showing in her voice. That anxiety caused Alex to pause before taking a step forward to look further into the room. Kara put her hands on her sister’s shoulders to gently push her out of the apartment. “Please, Alex. I'll explain everything later, but for now please just leave. Take the food to Astra just go please.” Kara’s voice was pleading and small, and Alex’s expression softened as she nodded.

“Mommy?” Kara tensed at the small voice and her hands tightened on Alex’s shoulders before she turned to bend down to be at eye level with her daughter. Anya rubbed at her eyes as she shuffled over to Kara dressed in a Supergirl onesie. “Mommy, I’m hungry,” Anya mumbled as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck so that she would be carried.

“Kara, who is this?” Alex asked as Kara stood up holding her daughter. Alex studied the blue eyes girl and after a moment it hit her how closely they resembled each other. “Kara, who is this?” she asked again to make sure she was correct in her assumption.

“Alex, I was going to tell you,” Kara started to ramble as she held her daughter closer to her. “I was, I promise, I just didn’t know how. Please just listen to me and let me explain.” Kara felt her eyes burn and she barely registered Clark announce he was leaving as she looked at Alex. “Alex-”

“Kara,” Alex interrupted, raising her voice a bit, Alex took a moment as she tried to control her mixed emotions and walked past Kara into the apartment to set the food down. “Kara, who is this?”

Kara pressed her lips against the top of Anya’s head and took a moment before looking back up at Alex. “This is Anya,” Kara introduced, smiling a little when Anya pressed her face into her neck. “She’s my daughter.” Kara tensed when Alex sat down at the dining table, taking in the news that she was an aunt and had been for years apparently. “Anya,” Kara murmured softly, smoothing back her daughter’s messy blonde hair, “this is your Aunt Alex. Can you say hi?”

Alex looked up as the small child lifted her head and rested her cheek against her mother’s shoulder as she gave Alex a shy smile.

Alex stood up and opened her mouth as if to say something before walking to the fridge to get something alcoholic to drink. She turned and motioned to Kara to go sit on the couch, watching as her little sister followed her wordless instruction. The tension was heavy and Kara clung to Anya as if the child was a lifeline. Alex sighed and walked over to the couch to sit next to Kara. Tears were rolling down her face as she held her daughter and Alex felt a tinge of pain in her chest at the sight.

“Kara,” Alex murmured softly as she placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “Kara, it’s okay. I’m here for you and I can wait for you to be able to tell me what happened.” Alex set the bottle she was drinking from down on the table and looked at Anya. “Hey, sweetie, I’m your Aunt Alex. Can you tell me how old you are?”

Anya shifted closer to Kara as she looked at Alex with her face half buried against Kara’s chest. “Six,” she mumbled to her aunt before hiding her face again. Anya was shy unlike her mother and overly clingy to Kara which was clear from how she refused to let go of Kara just like Kara was refusing to let go of Anya.

“Wow, you’re six? That must mean you go to school, right?” Alex looked up at Kara who had her eyes closed with her lips pressed against Anya’s head. The older blonde shook her head and lifted her head.

“She was living with the Kents but she refused to be around people unless I was around. She was homeschooled though,” Kara told Alex. She placed a kiss on Anya’s head and smiled at the small blonde. “Hey, sweetheart, why don’t you get the pizza and takeout and bring it over here. Say thank you to your aunt too.” Kara removed her arms from around Anya and watched as her daughter walked over to the counter and floated up to get the food.

“She’s Kryptonian,” Alex observed as she watched her niece walk over with the food she brought. “Does she have her other powers yet?”

“Yeah, she is half but she still has powers,” Kara told Alex as Anya sat on Kara’s lap. “Just flight and strength right now, but I assume the rest will come in later.” She began to unconsciously run her fingers through Anya’s hair as she watched the child munch on the slice of pizza she had in her hands. “Alex, she’s going to start living with me.” Kara looked at her sister and it was visible how hard she was trying to hold herself together. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t think I can do this alone.” Tears trickled down her cheeks as she felt the severity of her situation finally hit her. She was living on a junior reporter’s salary with most of her funds going towards food and rent. Add the food Anya needed and whatever else she had to get for her daughter and she was sure she would have hardly anything left.

Anya turned on Kara’s lap and reached up to wipe away the tears on Kara’s face. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Hugs to make the tears go away.” The tiny blonde wrapped her small arms around her mother’s neck and Kara forced a smile as she hugged Anya back.

“I’m going to be here for you, Kara,” Alex told her sister. “You won’t be alone. I’m always here for you. Always have been and always will be.” The brunette smiled when Kara held out an arm for Alex to hug her and the brunette wrapped her arms around Kara and Anya until Kara stopped crying.

The three of them spent the rest of the night watching Netflix and eating the food Alex had brought over. Alex got Anya to slowly open up to her, and she learned a bit about the shy six year old. As Kara held her daughter on her lap, she wondered if she was capable of being a good mother. She had sent Anya away for six years with visits on weekends and holidays but still she had given her away for the first six years of her life. There was also the fact that even though Kara loved Anya with all that she had, the freckled blonde child still reminded her what happened to her when she was eighteen. After laying a sleeping Anya in her bed, Kara pulled Alex over to the couch and closed her eyes.

“I was eighteen.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so my notes for the first chapter I don't think actually posted so I want to make sure it's stated that for the sake of the fic and angst, Kara is 24 and Astra is alive. Thank you for all the kudos and comments, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. You can find me at queenghostling on Tumblr.

“Mommy,” Anya’s soft voice said, waking Kara up. “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” The small girl climbed onto the bundled form of her mother and began to bounce hoping to get her mother to get up. “Mo- om- my!” Anya flopped down on top of Kara and giggled as Kara rolled onto her back.

“Good morning, sunshine. How did you sleep?” Kara pushed herself up into a sitting position so she could look at her daughter without straining her neck. She brushed back Anya’s wild blonde locks as she smiled at the big blue eyes that looked back at her.

“I slept really well,” Anya said, scooting forward on her mother’s lap to get closer. “Your bed is so big and I like how it smells.”  
Kara chuckled and glanced past Anya to see Alex walking towards the kitchen from where she had been asleep on the couch. “I’m glad you like my bed, you’ll be sleeping on it until we find a bed for you or a new apartment.” Kara looked over her daughter, taking in how cute she looked in that Supergirl onesie, and her heart felt warm at the thought of finally having Anya living with her. “Did you have any dreams?”

Anya nodding and laid down on Kara so that she could listen to her heart. “I dreamed that we saved a bunch of puppies and then had ice cream cones.” The little girl sat straight up as the scent of pancakes filled the apartment. “Mommy, are we having cancakes? Is Aunt Lexie making cancakes?”

“Aunt Lexie?” Kara asked as she lifted Anya off her so she could get up.

“You slept in so we bonded a bit,” Alex informed Kara from the kitchen. “She can’t seem to say Aunt Alex but it's okay cause she’s adorable.”

Kara grabbed a robe to put on over the tank top she had put on for bed and turned to Anya to lift the six year old up, smiling. “Anya, you bonded with someone who wasn’t me, Uncle Clark, or the Kents. I’m so proud of you.” Kara showered Anya with kisses sending the child into a fit of giggles. “Let’s go help Aunt Lexie make those cancakes.” She set down Anya and watched the blonde girl run over to her aunt and cling to her leg.

“Cancakes?” Alex asked softly when Kara walked over. “Your daughter is adorable. She’s like a shy little puppy who becomes super playful when comfortable around people.” The brunette flipped over the pancakes and used her free hand to ruffle Anya’s hair. “Hey, kiddo, why don’t you help your mommy set the table? You can put out napkins and get out the orange juice.” Alex waited until Anya bounded over to the table to get things set up before grabbing Kara’s arm to pull her closer. “I want to give her a little checkup. If my guess is correct she's never been to a doctor and I think we need to know how being half human is affecting her.”

Kara took a moment to think about what Alex was saying and got out some plates for breakfast as she did. “But, Alex, that would mean taking her to the DEO,” Kara said setting down a plate for the pancakes before moving to set the other three at the places Anya made for them. Her daughter had moved to the couch to watch TV and was too invested in the cartoon playing to listen to her mother and aunt. “I'm not ready to expose her to all of that yet. She knows I'm Supergirl but the only people involved with the DEO who know about her are you and Astra.”

There was a knock on the door and Kara wondered if her aunt had heard her name until the Kryptonian remembered her powers were being dampened. There was another knock followed by Mon-El saying, “Kara, are you there? I thought I would bring breakfast before you leave for work.”

Kara’s eyes widened and she looked at Alex desperate for a way to deal with the situation. Her sister motioned for her to take over on the pancakes and went over to Anya, whispering in her ear before the child jumped up and ran off to the bedroom area giggling. Alex closes the curtains that separated the living space from the sleeping space and returned to Kara. “I told her to pretend to be a secret agent and hide so she can go on the mission of eating her pancakes. I'll go send Mon-El away.”

“No, I should do it,” Kara said as she pulled Alex over so she could watch the pancakes. “Worst case scenario, my boyfriend finds out about my daughter and gets mad.” Kara knew she was being optimistic but she didn't believe Mon-El could react worse than that. The blonde took a deep breath and went to the door that her boyfriend was knocking on. “Mon-el, I'm sorry but Alex is making pancakes. She had stayed over after Sister Night,” she told him opening the door a crack, hoping he gets the message that she doesn't want him to come in.

Of course, he didn't and the Daxamite pushed past her inside. His face scrunched up in confusion at the sight of three places set up at the table and cartoons playing on the TV. “If it's just the two of you why are there three plates? Also, when did you start watching cartoons?”

Kara opened her mouth to speak when the sound of something clattering on the floor stopped her. She went over to her bed and found Anya standing behind her fallen clothes rack. The six year old had a look of guilt on her face but it soon turned to wide eyed panic as Mon-El appeared behind Kara. “Mommy,” Anya murmured as she went over to her mother to hide from the stranger.

“‘Mommy’?” Mon-El repeated as a question. Kara flinched and lifted her daughter up to hold her with one arm so she could put the rack back. “Kara, who is this kid?” His tone was harsh and hostile causing Kara to wrap her arms around Anya reflexively.

Alex must have heard Mon-El’s tone or just had been watching as back up because when Mon-El started to advance on Kara, Alex came forward and stepped between them with her hands out to stop the Daxamite. “Okay, just give her a chance to explain. Why don't you go sit and I'll finish the can- pancakes.” Alex waited hoping the man would listen but he just stood there glaring with his arms crossed. She sighed and turned to Kara and Anya. “Hey, kiddo, why don't you help me by finishing setting the table while Mommy talks to to Mr. Glare.” She held out her arms to take the small six year old to leave Kara and Mon-El alone.

Kara remained silent, wrapping her arms around her stomach and avoiding Mon-El’s sharp gaze. “You have a daughter? That is your daughter, right? I mean, it can't be Alex’s because it looks a lot like you.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a step closer to Kara. “Why didn't you tell me you had a kid? How did this even happen? I can’t believe this, Kara. You got on me for lying and you didn't even tell me about that! I thought all that Kryptonian high and mighty mentality would keep you from having a mistake like that. You are so-”

“I was eighteen!” Kara interrupted, her angry tone shocking herself. “Shut up, Mon-El,” she said quickly when he opened his mouth to speak again. “You do not get to talk about Anya like that. She is a she not an ‘it’ or ‘that’. She is beautiful and sweet and gentle and shy and mine. She is not a mistake, she will never be a mistake.” Kara felt tears prickling at her eyes and she lifted her hand to wipe at her eyes but lowered it as she looked at Mon-El. “I forgave you for lying. I get why you didn't say anything about being the prince, you thought I would hate you and I get that. But, Mon-El, I've never told _anyone_ about Anya. Alex didn't know until last night when she came to my apartment. I never told her, she just came and saw Anya. The only people who knew before now were Kal-El, the Kents who raised her for six years, and Astra who I only told to save J’onn. Her father doesn't even know about her but that's for other reasons. Please don't say anything. I’m not ready for people to know.” Her voice had begun to crack and shake as tears flowed freely. She knew Mon-El would say something, either through complaining to someone or just blurting it out, and the privacy to get Anya settled in that she had wanted for a few days was gone.

Mon-El sighed and wrapped his arms around the crying blonde. “I'm sorry I'm just confused and shocked. I won't say anything about her. I'm sorry.” He rubbed her back until she was only sniffling and then stepped back. “Let's go have breakfast and then I'll let you be with your daughter.”

Kara nodded and wiped at her face. “Thank you.” She smiled at him and walked past to find she and Mon-El were alone in the apartment. Panic took root inside of her chest and she used her x-ray vision to search the building, sighing in relief when she found Alex and Anya in Astra’s apartment. “I'll be back. Don't eat anything yet.” She grabbed her glasses and slipped on slippers so she could walk across the hall to her aunt’s apartment. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Alex who opened it.

“Hey, sorry I took her but I was afraid it would get heated and didn't want her around for that,” Alex apologized as she turned a bit to signal for Anya to come over. “She really likes Astra, your aunt’s really good with kids.”

Anya walked over with Astra, holding the older woman’s hand. “Can Aunt ‘Stra come and eat with us?” she asked giving her mother and aunt a pleading look.

Kara immediately looked to Alex for help but her sister had closed her eyes to save herself from the adorable puppy dog face Anya was giving them. “Yes,” Kara said, unable to deny her daughter what she wanted, “Aunt Astra can come have breakfast.”

Astra chuckled as shook her head as Anya pulled her towards Kara’s apartment. “You are going to have trouble with denying her anything, my dear niece.”

“She's right, you know,” Alex said, nudging Kara with her shoulder as they returned to the other apartment. “Hey, how did he take it?” she asked stopping Kara just outside the door.

Kara looked down and adjusted her glasses with a sigh. “He was upset at first. He called her an ‘it’ and a ‘mistake’. He calmed down though and apologized so it's okay now.” Kara smiled at Alex but it was clear she was emotionally exhausted from dealing with her boyfriend. Kara opened the door and a look of relief flashed across her face when she saw that Mon-El had actually listened to her about not starting to eat. “Who is ready for breakfast?”

 

_~~~~~~~~~_

 

Kara had called CatCo right after breakfast to call in sick so that she could sneak Anya into the DEO which was where they were headed soon after getting Anya in a blue dress with red shorts and Velcro shoes. Alex had offered a ride to Mon-El but the Daxamite had turned her down so he could go ahead. Kara wondered if he was upset, noticing how he would eye Anya with a bit of anger in his eyes, but she focused instead on Anya and the stories she was telling Astra with enthusiasm. Astra opted to come along, however, and Kara grew curious at the way her aunt’s eyes would linger on Alex before moving away. In the end, it was just the four of them climbing into Alex’s car to go to the DEO.

“So, how is this going to work?” Astra asked, turning in the passenger seat so she could look at Alex and Kara. “You want to sneak her in which is a bit difficult to do considering all the cameras, people, and-”

“J’onn,” Alex said as she stopped the car in the DEO parking area.

“I mean, I guess the Martian is an issue- oh he is right there,” Astra said as she turned to look forward, seeing J’onn standing right in front of the car with a stern expression.

“Fuck,” Alex cursed as she hit her head against the steering wheel. She winced when Kara kicked her chair and mumbled, “Sorry.” Alex motioned to the parking spaces and waited until J’onn was out of the way before going to park. Alex turned off the engine and turned to look at Kara in the backseat as the Kryptonian ran her hands through Anya’s hair. “Kara, are you ready for this?”

Kara shook her head and unbuckled Anya so she could pull her onto her lap, pressing her lips to the back of her daughter’s head. “I’m not ready but I have to. He would find out anyway.” Kara looked out the window to see J’onn walking over and she felt her heart sink when she saw Mon-El standing behind a pillar before walking away to head inside. She smiled into Anya’s hair when the six year old took Kara’s hands in her small ones.

J’onn knocked on the driver’s side window and Alex sighed as she rolled down the window. “Kara,” J’onn said, looking at the heroine clutching the small blonde girl. The man gave a comforting smile and motioned to the back door of the car to be unlocked. He opened the door slowly and climbed in next to Kara. “It’s okay,” he soothed placing a hand on her shoulder, saying the words Kara had been desperate to hear since she was eighteen. He repeated his words as Kara shut her eyes tightly and Anya turned to face her mother, wrapping her arms around Kara’s neck.

“Thank you,” Kara rasped, opening her eyes to look at J’onn. She scooted over to the man and let him wrap his arms around her. “This is Anya,” she murmured softly. “This is my daughter.”

J’onn pulled back and smiled at Anya who peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Hi there, little one, my name is J’onn J’onzz.” When Anya tightened her grip, J’onn chuckled and got out of the car. He turned to Alex who had been talking to Astra and informed the short haired brunette in a whisper, “Mon-El came in about ten minutes ago ranting about how Kara had a daughter and how he couldn’t believe she hadn’t told him. I would take the less used halls to get to your lab. Protect her, Alex.” He turned to Astra and motioned for her to follow him.

The older woman glanced at Alex briefly before following and Alex walked over to the open car door to find Kara telling Anya about what was going to happen, giving reassurances that she would be there with her daughter every step of the way. “Did you hear what he said?” Alex asked when Anya climbed out of the car, holding out her hand for the little girl to take. She felt her heart break as Kara gave her a solemn nod and she made a mental note to kill the Daxamite. “Come on, Kara, we can get potstickers and pizza after we finish up here. I know you have to go get Anya’s stuff too.”

“Mommy, can I hold your hand?” Anya asked looking at Kara with those puppy dog eyes and the blonde woman gave in immediately. Anya beamed when Kara took her other hand and hopped between the two women excitedly. “I wanna swing, I wanna swing,” she giggled as they headed towards the building.

Alex looked at Kara and mouthed. “Ready, and-” The women lifted the girl off the ground and swung her, causing her to go into a fit of giggles. The little girl chanted for them to do it again but Kara picked her up instead. Alex walked close and whispered to Anya, “Hey, bunny, want to be a secret agent like me?” The little girl looked at her with large excited eyes and nodded. “Okay, then I need you to be really quiet and do whatever me or your mommy say. Ready to start Operation Check Up?” Anya nodded and bounced a little on Kara’s hip. “Let’s go then.”  
The trio made their way through several empty hallways, following J’onn’s advice, and after several minutes arrived at Alex’s lab. Kara set Anya down on the table, placing a kiss on her head, before walking over to the glass wall and stepping out for a moment to listen to what people were saying. She leaned against the glass wall and let her head fall back against it as she let the words of the people in the building wash over her. Most of the agents and people were curious about the specifics, a few wondered if her daughter was Kryptonian and what that would mean, and the rest talked about her with a mix of pity and shaming.

“Hey, Little Danvers,” a voice greeted softly. Kara opened her eyes and looked at a smiling Maggie. The smile held too much pity and hesitance for Kara to be comforted by the gesture, but she did appreciate it though. “I heard.” That was all she said and all she needed to say. Kara looked past Maggie to see Winn and James looking at her, Winn ducking his head as he turned to James who did the same in order to avoid Kara’s gaze. Maggie turned and glared at the pair before turning back to Kara. “Ignore them, they are being idiots.”

Kara looked through the glass at Anya who was listening to Alex as her aunt told her what the different things in her lab were. “Should I have told people about her?” The question came out of nowhere but Kara felt it was something that needed to be asked.

Maggie looked at the child listening to her girlfriend and then back at Kara. “That kid looks like she’s about six so you were in college when you had her, right?” Kara nodded with a confused expression, slightly surprised Maggie guessed Anya’s age with one look. “Then you were just a kid when you had her. You had no idea what you were doing, you still don’t know. Look, it’s your business and your life. You wanted to keep her a secret so then you should be allowed to do that.” Maggie flashed Kara a dimpled smile and looked at the blonde child unwrapping a piece of candy Alex had given her. “I do have to ask, why did she show up now?”

Kara smiled as she looked at Anya and raised her hands to adjust her glasses. “She can fly and as soon as she realized she could she would try to find me when I left after visits. The Kents had to call Kal to catch her before she got lost or seen. Well, it was getting too stressful and so Kal brought her yesterday to live with me. I’ve been wanting to have her come live with me but then I became Supergirl so I had to push having her move in out.” Kara smile grew when Anya looked up at her and beamed at her mother, quickly flying over to Alex to hide when she noticed Maggie looking at her as well. “I feel bad though,” Kara added softly before she could stop herself. She did, however, keep herself from continuing. She went back inside and removed Anya from Alex’s arm to put her back on the table. “Sorry,” she apologized to Alex.

Alex shook her head and began to prepare to start the tests. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind.” She looked up when Maggie sauntered in to lean against the wall and observe, smiling at the detective. “Are you ready, kiddo? I’m going to start with the ouchie stuff first, okay? If you don’t cry, maybe Mommy will get you a surprise.”

A fearful expression appeared on Anya’s face and she looked at Kara with her big blue eyes. Kara took her daughter’s hand and smiled encouragingly. “Can I get a bunny?” Anya asked, squeezing Kara’s hand when Alex began to prep her small arm to draw a bit of blood.

Kara immediately felt bad about what they were doing and looked at Alex for comfort. Her sister gave her the same guilty look but nodded anyway. Kara looked at Anya and smiled, picking her up to sit down on the table herself so Anya could sit on her lap. “I will get you a stuffed bunny,” Kara told Anya as Alex tried a normal needle only for it to break. Kara smiled at the fact her daughter was tougher than she looked just like she was.

“Like mother, like daughter,” Maggie laughed. She turned to look at Winn and James peeking in and rolled her eyes. “She’s just a kid not some animal you are looking at at the zoo.” Maggie looked at Anya and flashed her her dimples. Anya wasn’t charmed by the dimples, however, and ducked her head so her messy hair would hide her face. “Dang, I was hoping she would warm up to me if I showed her the dimples.”

Everyone laughed at that and Winn took a step forward. “She looks so much like you,” he observed, stepping back a bit when Alex went back to Anya to draw blood with a needle meant for Kryptonians. “Except for all those freckles.”

“You know, those freckles look familiar. I know that sounds weird but still,” James said as he moved next to Winn and Maggie. “Also the shape of her eyes sorta looks familiar too. I mean, she mostly looks like you, but there’s something familiar about her.”

Kara furrowed her brows and placed a kiss on Anya’s head after Alex was done with drawing blood. Anya sniffled and clinged to one of Kara’s arms but that was the most she reacted. “You are such a brave girl. I’m so proud,” she told Anya.

“Marcus Morrison,” James muttered under his breath, soft enough that only Kara could hear. Kara immediately stiffened visibly and James swore loud enough for the others to hear. “Nothing,” he deflected when he earned looks from the others. His eyes were on Kara for the duration of Anya’s checkup and, when it was over, he went over to Kara as she remained seated with Anya still on her lap who was listening to Disney songs on Kara’s phone while they waited on the results.

“Don’t say anything, James,” Kara said before the photographer could say anything. “I know he works at the Daily Planet, I know he is a reputable journalist, I know.” Her voice was soft and quiet but there was a hint of steel in it as well. No one knew who Anya’s father was until now and Kara wished James hadn’t pieced it together. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“He’s coming to work with a CatCo reporter sometime in the next few weeks on a story he is on about that killer who came here from Metropolis,” James informed her. “I heard Snapper talking with Cat about pairing you with him.”

Kara’s world began to grow hazy and every muscle in her body tensed up. Despite her super hearing, she didn't hear James ask if she was okay and repeat her name, nor did she hear her daughter say she was holding her too tightly. She didn't know when Astra came in and took Anya from her or when Alex yelled at everyone to get out. She couldn't breathe, couldn't focus, couldn't do anything. There was a twisting and churning sensation in the pit of her stomach and an acidic taste rose within her throat. Alex must have noticed because when Kara went to throw up there was a bucket there for her when she did. A glass was pressed against her lips sometime later, Kara couldn't tell how long, and slowly Alex’s voice registered in her ears.

“Shhh,” her sister comforted, “it’s okay. I got you.” It took Kara a moment to realize Alex was smoothing back her hair while rubbing her back and a few seconds after that she was crying. It hurt to breathe, it felt wrong, but she found she could do so again. “Here drink some more water.”

Alex removed her hand from Kara’s head to get the glass and Kara reached out to take it from her. “I can hold it,” she croaked, her voice sounded a bit foreign to her. The glass was shaking and Kara looked at it confused until she realized it was her who was shaking. “Where’s Anya?” Kara asked as she took a sip.

“Astra has her,” Alex answered as she pushed the bottom of the glass up so Kara would drink more. “None of us could pull your arms from around her so Winn and James ran to go find Astra while Maggie and I stayed here. Don't worry you didn't hurt her, she was actually pretty worried about you.” Alex took the empty glass from her sister and set it down on the counter. “Kara, what happened?”

Kara shook her head and stood up. “I don't want to talk about it. Let's just finish up here, I still need to get Anya’s things and I wanna get her that stuffed bunny.” The heroine left the lab before Alex could respond and went to search for her daughter.

Not caring about who saw her or what she heard, Kara looked everywhere. Her head hurt too much to use x-ray vision and so the search took longer than it needed to. In the end, Kara found Anya sitting at Winn’s computer on Astra’s lap as the woman taught her Kryptonese. Kara smiled at the sight and moved to walk over when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.

“You look like you needed one,” Lucy told Kara as she released her friend. A smile was on the shirt woman’s lips and she was dressed in her DEO gear.

Kara broke out into a smile and wrapped her arms around her friend. The woman had left the DEO for a while to make sure it was what she wanted to do, sort of having been thrusted into the organization quickly in the beginning. “You decided to work for the DEO?”

“Yup,” Lucy replied. “And I'm also going to be working for CatCo too so we have an official DEO agent there to monitor the news in case they hear about something before the DEO does.” Lucy looked over at Astra and Anya and then back at Kara. “Is that her?”

Kara nodded and smiled when Anya turned to look at her. “Her name is Anya.” It was then that Kara felt the eyes of the other people in the command center and the whispers filled the area. “Where is Mon-El?”

Lucy shrugged and turned as Vasquez approached her. The pair went off to take care of something leaving Kara standing there alone which meant, to Anya, it was safe to go to her mother. “Are you okay, Mommy?”

Kara heard some awws from some of the people watching and the anxiety churning in her stomach went away. “I'm okay, sunshine,” Kara told the tiny blonde. Kara crouched down to look over the child to make sure she hadn’t hurt her during her panic attack when an agent hesitantly approached the mother and daughter.

“Um, I have these cookies,” the large, muscular man began looking unsure of himself, especially when Anya clung to Kara out of shyness, “and I was wondering if I could give her some.”

Kara smiled at him and asked Anya, “Do you want a cookie?” The little girl nodded shyly into her neck and Kara laughed softly. “Why don't you take the cookie from the nice man and thank him?” Anya didn't move and an idea popped into Kara’s head. “He’s a secret agent, Agent Lowry. His mission is to give you a cookie, don't you want to help a fellow agent with his mission?”

Anya pulled back a bit, her interest in secret agents overpowering her shyness, and she looked up at the man. “Thankies,” she half mumbled, half whispered as she took the cookie and quickly returned to hiding her face by pressing up against Kara.

The agent gasped softly and whispered to two other agents, “Oh my gosh, that kid is so cute. She took the cookie.” The other two agents awed and soon other agents began offering snacks and food. It had seemed as though Anya had become the DEO’s favorite six year old half alien and Kara felt all her anxiety vanish, leaving her with a light feeling as if she was floating.

The rest of the day was spent going back and forth to get Anya’s stuff from the Kents’ and taking it to her apartment. Astra had decided she would watch Anya so Alex could go be with Maggie and had also decided that she could make breakfast in the morning as well. On the way home from the DEO, Kara had gotten Anya a stuffed sky blue rabbit which was named Bunbun and Anya had refused to let go of the stuffed animal since, even in clutching the plush tightly in her sleep. By the time the day was through, Kara barely had the energy to change and she climbed into bed, wrapping her arms around Anya to hold her protectively. And it was then that Kara slept better than she had in six years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All kudos, feedback, comments, and ideas are welcomed. I have to admit that while I'm a Sanvers shipper I also love General Danvers hence Astra being how she is around Alex. Don't worry, Sanvers shipper, Sanvers is endgame but there will be some General Danvers moments. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm already working on the next. Remember, feel free to find me at queenghostling on tumblr.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I wrote this cause I don't want to write this six page paper I need done by Sunday night. This chapter is pretty long but it's got a surprise near the end I wanted to include cause its important for stuff. Now this is a slow burn and I do have to warn I make Mon-El look like a complete jerk like more than usual. I do like Mon, his character is interesting, BUT I hate him with Kara. I kinda wanna say more but that would spoil things so I won't. Anyway, please enjoy and I appreciate all forms of feedback and validation. You can find me at queenghostling on tumblr.

 “ _You need to start thinking about schooling before August. You only have less than a month to figure it out,_ ” Alex told Kara. The blonde was working with Astra to make breakfast and get ready for work, the small girl still asleep on Kara’s bed. Kara’s phone was on the kitchen island with Alex on speaker which meant Astra could hear to back Alex up. “ _I know she refused to go to school but maybe if you ask her she will. Plus, you can't have her around all the time. Neither can me or Astra be around._ ” A voice, most likely Maggie, said something unintelligible in the background and Alex laughed. “ _Maggie wants to see if you will let her take Anya to the precinct one day if she ever warms up to her._ ”

Astra was unusually quiet and Kara glanced at her aunt as the brunette made omelettes, noticing how her hands were clenching the handle of the skillet so hard her knuckles were white. If her bracelets weren't on her wrists the handle would have probably broken under her grip. “I don't think that would be wise to take a six year old girl to a place criminals are.” Astra’s words were cold and harsh, showing just how much the woman disliked the detective.

It was quiet for a while after that, the sound of a car being driven the only sound. “ _You are going to look into something, right? You basically work two full time jobs, you can't watch her all the time._ ”

“Aunt Lexie?” Anya asked in a sleepy mumble. She rubbed her eyes as she shuffled out from behind the curtain and looked around her her aunt. “Aunt Lexie?”

“ _I'm not there, bunny,_ ” Alex told Anya from the phone. “ _I'm with Ms. Maggie right now. I have to go, though, so be good for Mommy and Aunt Astra._ ” Goodbyes were said and Alex hung up, taking the tension away from Maggie and Astra basically being in a conversation together with her.

“Why don't you get changed, Anya?” Kara suggested as she wiped her hands to go to her daughter. “I'll brush your hair and get your backpack packed when I'm done helping Aunt Astra.” She placed a kiss on Anya’s head and waited until she had scampered back behind the curtain before turning to look at Astra. “What is going on between you and Maggie?”

Astra pursed her lips and put the omelette on a plate before starting on another. “I don’t like that woman,” Astra told Kara, cold steel in her voice. There was a heaviness in the room as things remained unsaid and the unapproachable air Astra was projecting kept Kara from asking anything.

“It’s fine not to like her, but can you at least pretend?” Kara asked as she set the table. “Alex really likes her and it would be nice if you acted friendly.” Kara turned to her aunt and wished she knew what was going on in the older woman’s head. “I am going to go see how Anya is.” The feeling that something was going on with Astra unsettled Kara but she had no idea what it was. Her aunt was a guarded woman and, no matter how close they were, Kara couldn’t read her. That would have to be addressed later, however, because Kara was going to be late to work if she didn’t leave in the next thirty minutes. “Anya, are you ready?”

“Mommy, I need help,” Anya said as she tried to put on a blue shoe that did not match anything she was wearing. The six year old had put on an orange t-shirt with dark yellow shorts and the one shoe she had on was green.

“Yes, I think you might be right about that,” Kara commented, going to search for something else for her to wear. “It’s going to rain today so can you grab your purple raincoat and rainboots?” The older blonde pulled out a pink dress and shorts and returned to her daughter who was struggling with the green shoe. “Here, I’ll get that.” Kara knelt on the ground to take off the shoe and then she helped Anya change into the new outfit. “There, that’s better. Now did you brush your teeth?” Anya nodded and hummed in confirmation. “Do you want to take Bunbun with you? If you want to take any specific coloring books or reading books, then you need to put them next to your bag.” Anya waited until Kara helped her into her raincoat and boots before running off to go do what her mother said. Kara stood up and looked herself over in the mirror. She was wearing the usual cardigan and skirt look as usual and she adjusted her ponytail before returning to check on Astra and Anya.

“Mommy, can I have juice?” Anya asked as she “borrowed” some of Kara’s art supplies and placed them on the pile of books next to a black knapsack styled backpack with the House of El sigil on it.

Astra went over to her and gave her a hug, murmuring something in Kryptonese to her. When Anya gave her a slightly confused look, the woman sighed and scowled at Kara for a second. “You never taught her Kryptonese?” Astra questioned Kara as the blonde poured a cup of orange juice in a small blue cup. “Did you plan to teach her?”

Kara set the cup down at Anya’s spot at the table and picked up her daughter to set her in the chair. “I will, I planned to wait until she was living with me so that I could teach her and speak it at home. This is only the second day she’s been with me and I only would visit for a few hours before.” Kara sat down and began to eat. “What did you say to her?”

Astra smiled and followed Kara’s lead. “I told her to be a good girl when she is with you at work. You will be a good girl for you mother, won’t you, Anya?”

Anya nodded as she shoveled a huge amount of omelette into her mouth. She said something that sounded like gibberish with her mouth full and Kara gave her a scolding look, smiling despite it. “Thankies, Aunt ‘Stra,” Anya repeated after she swallowed.

“You’re welcome, little one,” Astra replied with a smile. The rest of breakfast passed quickly and Astra’s phone rang signaling she was being called. “Excuse me,” the older woman said as she stood up and answered her phone, taking her plates to clean up. “Yes, I can come in soon,” she said, her voice trailing off as she leaned against the counter.

Kara checked her phone and a string of what Alex deemed “Kara curses” left her lips softly. “Anya, we have to go,” Kara told her daughter as she rushed to pack Anya’s bag and slid the straps over the little girl’s shoulders. Using her super speed, she got her own things together and cleaned up, fixing her hair as she stopped next to Anya. “Okay, sunshine, time to go.” Kara took Anya’s hand and the two said goodbye to Astra before heading to CatCo.

The trip was quick, sped up by Kara flying her and Anya to CatCo so she wouldn’t be late. Kara touched down and made sure Anya was okay before fixing her ponytail. “Okay, sunshine, Mommy needs you to stay in her office when we get inside. Don’t leave with anyone except Mr. James or Miss Lucy or, if Aunt Lexie comes to get you, Aunt Lexie.” Kara took Anya’s hand and took a deep breath before heading inside. The elevator was empty when she and Anya got inside and she watched her daughter look up at her before lifting her arms, one hand still gripping Bunbun’s arm, and tried to mimic Kara’s ponytail with her own messy waves.

“Mommy, can you do my hair like that?” Anya asked as the elevator opened with a ding. Anya let go of her hair and took Kara’s hand as she walked with her mother to the office she would be spending the day in. Big blue eyes looked at the people walking around busy doing work and Anya walked a bit closer to Kara.

Kara opened the door to her office and led Anya inside. “Okay, you can sit at my desk and we can get you set up before I go do Mommy work things.” She took Anya’s bag and set it on her desk as her daughter climbed onto her desk chair. “Which book do you want first?” she asked as she took out the books Anya had picked out to bring. Once Anya picked one, Kara set out the color pencils Anya took from the apartment and put the rest of the books away for later. “Will you be okay here by yourself? Do you need anything? If you need me just say ‘Mommy’ and I’ll come as soon as I can. Don’t forget you can’t use your powers. If anything happened call for me as Supergirl and I’ll be right here.”

Anya stood on the chair, causing Kara to panic slightly due to the fact the chair swiveled, and wrapped her arms around Kara. “I’ll be okay, Mommy. I’ll stay here and color you a picture.” Kara’s arms wrapped around the small child’s body and kisses were peppered all over Anya’s head. “Mommy, that tickles,” Anya giggled

Kara laughed and pulled back, running a thumb over Anya’s cheek. “I love you so much,” she told Anya before placing a kiss on the girl’s forehead. “I’m going to get you some blank paper in case you want to draw.” She held Anya’s hand as the little girl sat back down and went to her printer to take out some paper. Setting it on the desk, anxiety settled in her stomach and she realized this would be the first time since Anya came to live with her that she would be out of her sight and she might possibly have to leave alone in order to fulfil her duties as Supergirl. The sight of Anya coloring a unicorn left her torn between staying to color with her or leaving because she had to work to support the little girl. “Okay, I have to go, sweetie, but remember I’ll come if you need me.”

The office was busy as usual and Kara caught James’ eyes, returning the smile he was giving her. “KEIRA!” Kara jumped and rushed over to Cat Grant’s office. The media mogul sat behind her desk looking at the screen of her laptop while she leaned back slightly rotating her chair back and forth. “Ah, Keira, thank God I don’t have to shout your name again.” The older blonde looked up and stared at her former assistant for a minute, causing Kara to shift uncomfortably. “Keira, I have a story I want you to work on with the reporter from The Daily Planet who is following a story here. He’ll be here-”  
“No,” Kara blurted, interrupting Miss Grant which she regretted instantly.

“I’m sorry, no?” Cat asked, stopping her movements and sitting up straight to look at Kara right in the eyes. “I don’t think anything I’ve said has been a question, Keira. I want you on this story. It would be a good opportunity for you and the reporter on the case has written several great articles.” The woman stood up and walked around the desk as she continued to glare at Kara. “I had to pull strings to get The Daily Planet to agree to let one of my reporters work with theirs and I thought it would be nice to give that position to you since I know you have been having trouble with Snapper, a nice little mentorship.” Cat held out the last syllable as she looked at Kara and studied the younger woman. “There’s something going on, isn’t there? Something’s keeping you from taking the story. Tell me.”

Kara wringed her hands as she looked down and moved to sit on the couch in Cat’s office. “I can’t- I can’t work with Marcus Morrison,” Kara whispered hesitantly. She looked up to see Cat eyeing her with an unreadable expression. “I can’t.” The thought of working with the man who had taken advantage of her made her sick and, as much as Miss Grant terrified her at times, she was afraid of facing Marcus. What if he found out about Anya? Would he want to meet her? To have custody of her? Kara focused on the sound of her daughter’s heart from where she colored in her office, using the steady beating to calm her panicking heart.

Cat sighed and sat down on the couch across from Kara. “What is it, Keira? Tell me why you can’t work with him and I’ll get someone else to do it. But if you can’t, I won’t take you off this story. Don’t give me that look, I have a business to run and I can’t make exceptions for anyone or I would have to do so for everyone.” Cat waited to see if Kara would speak but there was only silence. Cat sighed and stood. “Fine, he’s going to be here on Monday so make sure you are on time. Look up what you can on those murders and start trying to find sources for what’s going on now here in National City.” Cat walked back to sit at her desk and she looked at Kara. “Go, chop chop.”

Kara stood up and looked at Cat, opening her mouth to say something before changing her mind. She nodded and left the woman’s office feeling like she was going to be sick. Out of habit, she walked to James’ office and groaned in frustration as she fell back onto the couch. “Why does it have to be him?” The world seemed to be closing in on her and it began to feel difficult to breathe but Kara kept the beating of Anya’s heart in her ears to hold herself together. There was that fear again. The fear of losing Anya if Marcus found out about her. Of Marcus taking advantage of her again. It was that fear that created the panic that churned in her stomach and made her feel ill.

James set down the layouts he had been looking out and walked over to sit next to Kara. “You don’t have to answer, but was Marcus Morrison Anya’s dad? Is that why you had that panic attack at the DEO?” Kara nodded and James looked down. “I wish there was something I could do, but he would be here anyway so there’s a possibility he would recognize you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Kara told him resting her head in her hands. “I have to have Anya stay in my office because there’s no one who can watch her. Alex goes with Maggie on cases, Astra is trying to work for the DEO, and Anya is extremely shy so I would have to wait until she is comfortable around a person before I can leave her with them. I just wish there was more time before I had to see him. I don’t want to risk him finding Anya, I can’t lose her.”

James shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder. “You won’t lose her. Maybe me or Lucy could watch her when you are working with Morrison. I do have some cookies I can give her. I can call down Lucy and we can try to see if she warms up to us.”

Kara stood up and nodded, giving him a small smile. “That sounds like it would be a good plan. I should get back to Anya. Come by after lunch, I don’t want to give her any sugar before an actual meal.”  
James smiled and stood up, heading back to doing his job. “You sound like a mother,” he told Kara. “I didn’t really expect to hear something like that from you. Not until yesterday I mean.”

Kara laughed and adjusted her glasses. “Well, I tended to act like a mother when around my child.” A smile formed on her lips as she remembered the visits she would go on to see Anya, thinking of how excited her daughter would be to see her. “I am going to to my office, I’ll see you after lunch.” Kara waved at James as she left the art department and walked back to her office.

“That sounds like her, doesn’t it? What happened next?” a voice came from inside of her office, most likely towards her daughter. Kara opened the door and found Lena Luthor, dressed in a black dress with a grey coat and her hair in a perfect bun, sitting across from Anya drawing a picture while Anya did the same. Lena looked over her shoulder to find Kara closing the door with a wide eyed expression and the CEO set her color pencil down.

Before Lena could say anything, Anya looked up and saw Kara. She slid off the chair holding a picture and ran over to the blonde woman, wrapping her arms around one of Kara’s legs. “Mommy, I drew you a picture,” Anya told Kara releasing her mother so she could hold up her drawing.

Kara glanced up to see shock flash across Lena’s face before becoming unreadable. Kara crouched down and smiled at her daughter. “Thank you so much, sunshine. What did you draw me?” Kara took the picture from Anya and looked at it. It was obviously a picture of her and Anya as stick figures but to Kara it was a masterpiece. Stick figure Anya was drawn in red and silver while stick figure Kara was drawn in her Supergirl blue and red, the exception being the blonde hair they both had. “It’s beautiful, I’m going to put this on the fridge when we get home.” Kara pulled her daughter in for a hug and placed a kiss on her head. “Now, how about I let you listen to Disney music while I have a talk with Miss Lena?” Anya bounced in place and let Kara put headphones over her ears before going back to her drawing. Kara stood and took a deep breath as she looked at Lena.

Lena looked from her hands on her lap to Anya to Kara as she was obviously trying to process things despite the neutral expression on her face. “You have a daughter.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Lena didn’t need to confirm the fact, it was clear through how similar they looked and how Anya had called Kara Mommy. “How old is she?”

Kara walked over to Lena and sat at the second chair. “She’s six,” Kara answered fiddling with her glasses. “Her name is Anya.”

Lena’s lips twitched into a smile as she looked at Kara with her green eyes. “I know, she told me along with the name of her stuffed bunny,” the Luthor informed the Kryptonian. “She is a very energetic child and adorable. She invited me to color with her when I walked into your office.”

Kara’s jaw dropped and she looked at her daughter. “Anya opened up to you from the moment she saw you? That’s not like her. She’s incredibly shy, refuses to go to school because she doesn’t want to deal with the people.” Blue eyes met green and Kara wondered if there was something special about Lena. Kara certainly thought there was and perhaps Anya saw it too.

Lena tilted her head and tore her eyes from Kara’s to look at Anya. “Yeah, she opened up right away. I am pretty good with kids at times so maybe it’s that. And with the schooling, have you considered private school? They have smaller classes and the teachers often cater to the needs of individual students as well.”

Kara had thought about private school. She actually had looked at all the schools in National City near her apartment over the past three years whenever she had wanted to have Anya live with her. The only thing she could afford, however, was public school and it was too crowded for Anya to attend. Kara shook her head and looked down. “I can’t afford it. Anya and I have a huge food bill and I have to pay rent as well. I don’t think I’ll have anything left to be able to pay for anything like private school.” Glassy blue eyes looked at the softly singing child and Kara wished she could do better. Wished that she knew what she was doing. Wished she had been there since the beginning for more than just a few hours on the weekends and holidays when she could get away. More than anything, Kara wished that she could be enough for her daughter.

A hand stilled her wringing hands and Kara looked at Lena as the Luthor smiled reassuringly at her. “It will be okay, Kara. I know you can be an amazing mother.”

“How do you know that? What if I’m not enough?” Kara didn’t move her hands except to grab Lena’s in one of her own. It was grounding and calming to hold Lena’s hand and the anxiety she had felt evaporated.

“Kara Danvers, you are my hero,” Lena began, her words spoken with a desire to be conveyed and understood. “And you are your daughter’s hero as well. She told me stories of your visits and it’s clear she adores you, Kara. It’s clear she doesn’t want to be anywhere but with you. You are more than enough for her, that much is certain.

The two looked at each other, holding hands, in silence except for the sound of Anya singing to herself, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. No, it was very comfortable, calming even. Nothing more needed to be said and Kara smiled at the woman in front of her. They probably would have stayed like that if Mon-El hadn’t burst in, not even knocking, causing the pair to release each other’s hands as if it burned to hold hands. Kara glanced at Lena and noticed a flash of disappointment on her face before her stony mask slipped onto her face once more, making her expression unreadable as usual.

“Kara, I am so sorry about yesterday,” Mon-El apologized as he closed the door and walked over to his girlfriend. He had a bouquet of yellow roses and bag of what smelled like potstickers. “I shouldn’t have said anything about Anya, I’m so sorry.” He handed her the flowers and for the first time noticed Lena and Anya in the room. A slight scowl appeared on his face and he turned his attention to Lena. “What are you doing here?”

Lena met his glare with a piercing green gaze. “I was going to see if Kara wanted lunch. We had planned to get lunch yesterday, but I assume she forgot since her daughter came to live with her and there was too much going on for her to remember.” Lena was right which made Kara feel guilty for forgetting. She raised the flowers to her nose and smiled at the smell. “I guess this is my cue to leave.”  
“Wait,” Kara told Lena causing her to relax back into her seat. “Anya seems to really like you, do you want to have lunch with us? I feel bad forgetting about yesterday.” Kara smiled when Lena did as the woman nodded. “I feel bad about this, but can you watch her while me and Mo- Mike get more food?”

“Of course,” Lena said. She picked up a color pencil and grinned at Kara. “I’ll be able to finish my masterpiece.” The two women laughed but Mon-El just seemed to seethe behind a forced smile.

“Oh, Kara,” Mon-El said, digging his hands into his jacket pockets. He pulled out an envelope full of something that looked like a block and it took Kara a moment to realize it was cash. “Here, I want you to have this. I know you are probably worried about money and since we are dating, I get that Anya comes with you so I want to help you out.” He held out the envelope for Kara to take, watching the blonde as she lifted a hand to her mouth. “I don’t really spend much of what I make since I still live where I have and I get a discount on food at the bar. There’s like five hundred in there.”

“Oh Rao,” Kara gasped through her hand as she shakily took the money. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She threw her arms around him, not seeing the smug look he gave Lena as the CEO watched with longing that that could be her helping Kara, not to win her over but to honest to God help her because she deserved the help. Kara pulled back and put her hands on his cheek to kiss him, not knowing the action was causing Lena’s heart to ache. Kara stepped back and went over to her purse, putting the money inside of it. “Lena, do you have any requests for food? And you can let Anya have five potstickers if she wants some but no more until I get back.”

Lena shook her head and focused on the plumeria she had been drawing. “I am assuming you are going to Noonan’s so you know what I like. I’ll just have what I usually have,” she told Kara with a forced smile.

Kara nodded as she slid the headphones off Anya’s head and told Anya, “Okay, I have to go with Mon-El to go get some food. I’m leaving you with Miss Lena so can you be a good girl for her?” Anya nodded and lifted her arms for a hug. Kara complied and bent down to give Anya a hug, kissing her daughter on her head. “I love you, be good. If you need me have Miss Lena call me.” Kara took her phone from the little blonde’s lap and slipped it into her pocket. Kara ran her hand over Anya’s hair and gave one last kiss before leaving the room with Mon-el.

The two talked the entire trip to Noonan’s and it felt as though they had never argued. Kara wondered if Mon-El would be good to Anya and she hoped he would be as good to her daughter as he was being to her at that moment. An image of Kara, Anya, and Mon-El as a family popped into her head and as oddly wrong it felt Kara wondered if it would work. He was the only one who had been there for her when it felt as though she was alone. He seemed to really care about her and even though he didn’t listen, he was getting better. Kara decided to think about it later as they got into the elevator at CatCo, holding bags of food for two and a half aliens and one human.

While Kara was deep in thought, Mon-El put a hand on her cheek and leaned in to kiss her, taking advantage of the fact they were the only ones in the elevator. The action felt off to Kara and she pushed him away from her gently. “Mon-El, not right now,” she told him. He didn’t seem to understand the meaning of no still as he leaned back in and she pushed harder. “Mon-El.” She looked at him with disbelief, could that really be the only thing on his mind? The elevator opened and the Kryptonian rushed out to get to her office, hearing Mon-El follow behind and practically feeling the disappointment coming off him. Kara sighed and opened the door to her office just as Cat Grant strolled up behind her, causing her to quickly close the door and turn on her heels to look at her boss.

“Keira, there’s been a change in plans. Marcus just got on a plane and will be here tomorrow.” Cat looked up from the tablet she had been looking at and noticed Mon-El who was still scowling. “Weren’t you fired?” Cat asked raising an eyebrow. Mon-El mumbled something about just visiting and Cat shrugged. “Keira, I need you to be here tomorrow at nine in the morning to meet with him. I hope that’s not an issue.”

Kara fiddled with her glasses awkwardly considering she was holding bags of food and began to stammer a bit when Lena opened the door slightly, making sure to block the interior with her body and the door. “Hey, Kara, I think you are needed in here. Hello, Miss Grant, I’m sorry but I need to take Kara. I’ll send her to your office when I’m done.” There was no room for negotiation in Lena’s tone and the brunette grabbed Kara by the arm and pulled her inside, giving Cat a smile before she closed the door.

“Is something wrong?” Kara asked looking at Anya who was still drawing.

Lena shook her head and took the bags from Kara. “No, I just heard you and thought you could use some rescuing.” Lena smiled at Kara as she cleared a place on the desk for the food, asking Anya to help clear up the paper and pencils. She didn’t look up when Mon-El walked in but Kara noticed her smile fading and the blonde wanted nothing more than to get her to smile.

Kara turned to her boyfriend and took the bag he had from him. “Did you shake Miss Grant?”

“He did but I forgot I had something important to tell you, Keira,” Cat said as she stood in Kara’s office doorway. Kara jumped and looked at her boss with wide eyes while Cat looked over each person in the office, including Anya. “I see,” was all she said as she walked over to the desk where Anya was stuffing her stuff into her bag. She knelt next to the chair and smiled at the small blonde. “Hi, sweetie, what’s your name?”

Anya looked at Cat and instantly put her hands over her face, the curtain of messy blonde hair covering her small hands. It seemed like Anya’s shyness was back in full swing as Cat stood up and looked at Kara. “Um, her name is Anya, Anya Danvers,” Kara told the media queen as she went over to pick up her shy daughter. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask if I could bring her to work. There was no one else who could watch her and she’s extremely shy and she just started living with me. I promise I’ll find someone to take care of her but today I had no one. Miss Grant-”

Cat held up a hand to silence Kara and moved that hand to brush Anya’s hair behind her ear. “She looks like you. Though, she’s adorable.” Cat smiled at Anya as the girl peeked at her before hiding her face again. Kara was still shocked at seeing Cat smile. “Bring her as often as you need as long as she doesn’t become a distraction. I know you might be finding it difficult to juggle being a mother and having a job so I guess I can help you out a little. Don’t let word of this get out or I might have to start letting others bring their kids to work.” Cat looked at Anya’s face thoughtfully when the child peeked at her again. “You have a friend on the NCPD, yes? Ask them about what they know about these murders and use that as a lead,” Cat told Kara before she gracefully turned and left the office without another word or waiting to hear a response from her employee.

Kara let out a shaky breath and sat down on her chair, releasing her hold on Anya so her daughter would be on her lap. “That went better than I was expecting.”

“Well, Cat Grant does have a soft spot for children,” Lena commented as she began to take out food from the bags. She glanced at Mon-El to see if he would help but all he did was look at his phone while sitting in a chair. Lena shook her head and set out all the food. There was hardly enough room for it all and she could only guess what went to who. “I know what’s mine but I’m not sure about the rest.”  
Kara rolled her chair closer and began to divvy up the portions. “Um, the three of us eat a lot but I got the chicken for Anya since that’s her favorite. The rest is mostly for me and Mike.” Lena nodded at Kara’s explanation, taking note of what Anya liked in her head. She hoped to spend more time with the little girl, she was already charmed by her energy and cuteness.

The lunch mostly consisted of Kara asking Lena how work was and talking about things they could do together, Lena throwing in some suggestions that would be child friendly. Mon-El remained silent until he had to leave, telling Kara he would be over later. Lena, however, stayed even when lunch was over and when James and Lucy came to give Anya cookies, finding out that that was the way to the half Kryptonian’s heart. Lena stayed, saying her work day was over and that she just had to look over stuff she could do later. Lena stayed and Kara felt a strange giddiness in her chest as she did research for the story she would be assisting with, Lena drew with Anya, and the three chatted casually, almost like a family, until it was time for Kara to leave.

Anya was talking to Lucy outside of Kara’s office as the reporter got her things together, getting her papers that she had printed, and Lena leaned against Kara’s desk next to the blonde. “You are amazing, do you know that?” Lena murmured, hesitance in her voice showing she wasn’t sure if she should say what she was.

Kara looked at her friend and furrowed her brows in confusion. “How so?” Kara looked back down as she stapled some papers she hadn’t and added the packets to the pile she had created.

Lena moved a bit closer to Kara and looked at the blue eyed woman fondly as she gathered her words. “You are amazing because your daughter just started living with you and yet you seem to be handling it all so well. She adores you and you make sure she is safe and happy. You know her favorite food and you want what’s best for her. That’s just what makes you amazing when it comes to parenting. You are sweet and kind and smart and loyal and beautiful. You are so many wonderful, amazing things, Kara. You are my hero.” There was something about seeing Kara with Anya and seeing her with that man who made her uncomfortable and worried for Kara that most likely caused her to get to this moment. Lena Luthor had been taught to think before she acted or spoke. She was not one for being impulsive but this was one of those times she was. Or she would have been if she didn’t catch herself reaching up to put her hands on Kara’s cheeks. “Why are you with that guy?” she asked hoping to distract herself, though choosing a horrible topic to do so.

Kara had been simply staring at her papers as Lena spoke, letting the other woman’s words warm her heart. Lena’s question caused her to look up into green eyes and a thoughtful look appeared on her face. Why was she with Mon-El? “He was there for me when it felt like I had no one,” Kara told her. “And I think it was kinda expected of me to start dating him. We are alike, sort of, and it was easy. It was _so_ easy. He is good to me most of the time and I do like him, but then there are times he doesn’t listen to me. He told all these people about Anya when I told him not to, told everyone we were dating when I asked him not to, and he doesn’t listen to me half the time. But he always apologizes and I think he is learning which is good.” Kara couldn’t help but feel upset when she thought about her and Mon-El. She couldn’t help but glance briefly down at Lena’s lips before returning her blue eyes to green ones.

Lena noticed the glance and she bit her lip as she looked down and thought. She wanted to be rash, to be impulsive, to be risky. She looked up and stepped closer to Kara. She had words on the tip of her tongue that she wanted to say. She wanted Kara to be careful, to think of Anya and herself, to not just do something because it was easy because easy doesn’t mean it's what’s best. Instead of speaking, she acted. Her hands went up to cup Kara’s cheeks and the space between them was closed as Lena kissed Kara. The blonde was stunned for a moment before her hands went to Lena’s waist and the blonde returned the kiss. Kara didn’t remember picking Lena up and placing her on Kara’s desk nor did Lena remember pulling Kara closer between her legs to decrease the space between them. They were simply lost in the kiss and it took Kara a moment before she jumped back from Lena, looking flustered and shocked.

“Kara,” Lena breathed as she tried to catch her breath. The blonde quickly moved back to her desk to pack up her things and stood far away from Lena when the brunette repeated her name. “I- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” Lena apologized, getting off Kara’s desk and straightening her dress to return to looking perfect as usual.

Kara stared at the floor and shook her head. “I can’t, Lena. I’m with Mon-El,” she murmured not even bothering to use the fake name for her boyfriend. “I’m not even- I just- I can’t. I don’t want to mess up our friendship and I have a boyfriend. Lena, I- I’m sorry, Lena.” The blonde avoided Lena’s eyes as she headed to the door and opened it for Lena, slightly wiping at her lips to make sure there was none of Lena’s lipstick on her lips. Part of Kara broke at the sight of Lena slipping into that guarded, unapproachable woman as the brunette nodded and walked out of the door. “I’ll text you about lunch tomorrow, my aunt should be watching Anya.” She got a nod in response once again and Lena was soon gone as she walked to the elevator and swiftly got inside of it, relief in her green eyes at the fact she didn’t have to wait.

Anya bounded up to Kara and grabbed her mother’s hands as the blonde struggled to smile. Lucy noticed but said nothing which Kara was grateful for but knew she would have to talk to her shorter friend later about it. The flight home cleared her head a bit and Kara had completely forgot Mon-El would be waiting in her apartment for her until she touched down on the floor of her place and found him setting out the food.

“I’ll take Anya to Astra’s after she gets ready,” Kara told him as she carried her daughter to the bedroom area to get her ready for Astra’s. She pulled out PJs and called Alex as she sent Anya to brush her teeth.

“ _Kara?_ ” Alex answered, confusion in her voice. “ _What is it?_ ”

“Alex, something happened and I need to talk to you and possibly Astra. Maybe Maggie.” Kara removed her glasses from her face and felt her eyes burn. “And, can we have an impromptu Sister Night tomorrow? I think I’ll need it.” Alex murmured an agreement and had to hang up. Kara set her phone down and looked up at the ceiling as she just tried to forget how kissing Lena felt.

“Mommy,” Anya said as she clambered onto the bed and flopped down on Kara’s lap. “Do I have to go to Aunt ‘Stra’s? I wanna stay with you.”

Kara smiled and began to tickle Anya, making the girl squeal and giggle. “Mommy needs to spend some alone time with Mon-El,” Kara told her daughter as she picked her up and grabbed an overnight bag she had prepacked for a time Anya would have to stay with Alex or Astra or someone. “Where is Bunbun and your blanket?” Anya pointed and Kara followed her finger to retrieve the objects. “I’ll be right back,” she told Mon-El, ignoring to unsettled feeling in her stomach. Kara walked out of her apartment and to Astra’s door, knocking on it once.

“Kara,” Astra greeted when she opened the door. She looked at Anya and smiled as she took the bag, blanket, and plush from Kara. “You can set her down on the couch, I was about to watch a movie.” Astra opened the door more to let the two in and closed it behind them. “I got a text from Alexandra that you wish to talk. Should I come over tomorrow?”

Kara nodded as she set Anya down on the couch, the small child yawning. “She had some potstickers throughout the day but if you could give her some dinner that would be really great,” Kara told Astra. She sat on the couch and hugged her daughter tightly, placing a kiss on her forehead, nose, and cheeks. “I love you, sunshine, be good for Aunt Astra. I won’t be able to see you before work but I’ll bring ice cream when I get back.” Kara stood up and walked over to Astra, hugging her aunt as she whispered, “I did something bad and I don’t know what to do.”

Astra wrapped her arms around her niece and rubbed her back. “Tell me about it later and we will work this out.”

Kara nodded and pulled back. She looked at Anya who was already on her side with her eyes half closed snuggling her stuffed rabbit and a smile formed on Kara’s lips. “Don’t forget to call me if anything happens. And please, even if it's a tiny thing, call me. I’m seeing _him_ tomorrow.” Kara avoided her aunt’s gaze as the older woman pulled Kara into another hug, letting the warmth of the woman make her feel safe. “I have to go, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kara waved and left the apartment and entered her own. The rest of the night felt wrong, from the dinner to being in bed with the man she was only with because it was easy and had felt right at first. She did like Mon-El but Lena’s words, Lena’s lips, remained in her head the entire night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I found it difficult to write for Cat. I wanted to get her sass perfect but also show how she cares about Kara. I welcome feedback, ideas, comments, and kudos. The next two-ish chapters will be heavy on angst so prepare. I'm also going to be getting into the first major arc I have planned for this fic soon so there's that as well. Again, I hope this fic is being enjoyed and I'll be updating soon potentially.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it kinda took me a while to get this worked out cause I was kinda going through some stuff that came up from writing my other fic. I did get really into this chapter and wrote it in like a day. I don't have a beta so all mistakes are mine. Please enjoy and feel free to find/message me on tumblr at queenghostling.

Kara sat in her office drinking her fourth cup of coffee of the day. It was only fifteen minutes until twelve, Marcus’ flight having been delayed giving the Kryptonian a bit more time before facing him, but Kara hadn’t slept at all the night before. She had decided to patrol the city as Supergirl to clear her head. It had felt off being with Mon-El after kissing Lena and, with the addition of having to see Marcus to add to it all, Kara had really needed a breather. Now she was in her office, anxious and full of panic.

Kara stood up to throw away her coffee and left her office to see James before she had to meet Marcus in fourteen minutes. As she headed towards where James worked, she saw James hugging a man and her heart dropped as dread coursed through her veins. Kara knew it was Marcus despite his sandy hair being in a shorter style than it had been in college and his back being to her. James noticed her through the glass which caused Marcus to turn at the serious expression on the photographer’s face. Kara didn’t wait to see if the reporter recognized her, she turned and rushed towards the restroom, ignoring the looks people were giving her. She headed for the first sink and gripped the counter as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pale and her hands shook as she turned on the water.

“Kara?” Lucy called as she walked into the restroom. The short woman approached Kara and placed a hand on her arm, startling her. “Kara, are you okay?” Kara shook her head and Lucy wrapped her arms around the taller woman as she struggled to hold back tears, a few escaping to roll down her cheeks. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” Lucy murmured until Kara managed to pull herself together. The short agent grabbed a paper towel and began to dry the wetness from Kara’s face. “Do you want backup?” Lucy asked rubbing Kara’s arm.

Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I should do this alone. But stay nearby?” Kara forced a small smile when Lucy nodded and the blonde looked at her reflection to see if she looked like she had been crying. Thankfully, she didn’t and she left the restroom with Lucy to go face the father of her child. The short haired woman took her hand for a second to give a reassuring squeeze before walking off to speak to Cat for a moment as a pretense to stay on the floor. Kara walked over to where James and Marcus talked and forced a smile onto her face.

“Hey, Kara,” James greeted, giving her a smile. When Kara walked straight over to him, the photographer leaned towards her to hopefully help her feel safe. It worked but Kara still avoided looking at the reporter from Metropolis.

Marcus blinked his round, grey eyes and looked at Kara, making her wring her hands nervously. He looked the same, that handsome face and athletic build. He was wearing a black suit with a goofy tie with a frog on it, its tongue the thinner part of the tie. “Kara?” he asked. “Kara Danvers? I remember you from college.” His voice and expression made it seem as though he had forgotten what happened at that party, just remembering another classmate from years ago, but when Kara looked up into those grey eyes she could tell he remembered. There was a hunger in them and they darted down her body before returning to her eyes. He hadn’t changed at all. “So you are the one I’m working with on this story. I’m looking forward to it.” Marcus smiled, smirked more like it, and winked at Kara in a way that would have seemed charming and all in good fun to anyone but her.

Kara couldn’t look away, his gaze a reminder of that night, and she immediately wanted to get away. Her heart pounded and she wrung her hands to keep herself from breaking or hurting anything in her current state. “Um, I- I have to go make a call,” Kara stammered, bolting as fast as she could at a human walking speed to her office. She pulled out her phone and dialed Maggie, needing to both do her job and talk to someone she could find comfort in.

“Sawyer,” Maggie greeted as she answered the phone. The sound of gunshots could be heard from her end and a question Kara couldn’t make out even with her super hearing. “Kara? Kara. It’s your sister.” Based on what Maggie was saying she was with Alex which meant Alex probably had asked who was calling. “What is it, Little Danvers?”

Kara walked over to her desk and leaned against it as she thought about what to say. “Are you shooting real people or targets?”

There was a pause on the other line and some muffled words passed between the duo on the other line. “Targets,” Maggie answered, her voice followed by more gunshots. “Your sister thought this would be a good date idea, which I have to admit it is kinda fun testing out the DEO arsenal. Like some of this shit the NCPD doesn’t even get to use.”

Kara hummed in response and she remembered that she needed to ask about the murders. She didn’t want to have to go back out there again, out to face Marcus. Her skin crawled at the thought of working with him. “Maggie, I need to ask you about these murders that originated in Metropolis before showing up here. I am working with, um, with this reporter from Metropolis and so it would be really helpful if you could help out with it.”

The phone must have been put onto speakerphone because the sounds were louder before stopping. “Is the reporter him?” Alex asked in a soft, comforting voice. Kara just hummed in response, not wanting to verbally confirm it, causing Alex to swear loudly followed by several gunshots. “I’m going to come to CatCo. And don’t try to stop me because no one touches my baby sister and gets away with it.” There were some slams and another gunshot before the phone was taken off speakerphone.

The door of Kara’s office opened and closed as Marcus entered her office and Kara barely heard Maggie’s voice before she ended up crushing her phone in her grip. “Marcus,” Kara uttered as she watched the man lean against her office door. “Can you please leave I have another call to make.” Kara tried to summon the confidence and bravery that she had as Supergirl but her voice was small and carried a slight tremor. It didn’t go unnoticed as the sandy haired man smiled at her. He didn’t move and Kara wondered if Lucy was still on this floor. Would she notice Kara wasn’t still with James? Would James notice that Marcus had entered Kara’s office? Kara had no idea and she wished more than ever that Alex would come here to possibly nearly kill this man.

“You know,” Marcus began as he eyed her, uncomfortably slow now that no one was there to witness, “I was really hoping to find you after that night. I really wanted to get to know you. I thought we had a good time together.”

“You mean when you raped me?” Kara asked finding enough of that Supergirl steel to voice the question. Marcus frowned at that. There was silence and Kara felt herself start to panic as Marcus lifted a hand to run it through his hair and take a step forward. “Don’t,” Kara murmured, the steel gone from her voice. To her surprise and relief, Marcus froze. “Don’t touch me. Don’t get near me. I’m only working with you because I can’t tell Miss Grant that you are the fa-” Kara cut herself off and looked at the ground. “I didn’t tell her what you did to me six years ago,” Kara said instead to cover up her slip up.

Marcus seemed to fixate on what Kara was about to say and looked at her for a moment. “Where you about to say father?” Kara was silent and she wrung her hands nervously. “Kara, did you have a kid because of what we did?”

“You mean, because of what you did to me?” Kara snapped gripping her hands tightly as she looked up at Marcus. She was tense and slightly panicked. She did not want Marcus to learn about Anya. She was afraid he would try to take her or meet her. They stared at each other for a while before Marcus took a step forward causing Kara to start shaking visibly. “Stop. Stay away from me.”

“Then tell me.” Marcus took another step forward and Kara stepped around the desk. There was another step and another until Kara was against the wall and Marcus stopped moving forward at that point. “Tell me, Kara. Did you have a kid because of what we did?”

“Yes,” Kara whispered keeping her terror filled eyes on Marcus. “I had a kid because of what you did to me. Because you raped me. You won’t ever see her, though. You will never talk to her, never look at her, never touch her. You will never be in her life. I’m not going to let you anywhere near her.”

Marcus looked at her letting the information sink in. He moved forward, not taking the slow steps he had been before, and stood in front of the shaking blonde. His eyes darkened and a sinister look appeared on his face. “You are just a freak bitch I slept with once,” he told her in a harsh yet quiet voice, terrifying her even more. “That thing you had is just a freak hybrid. I would never want to even breath the same air as it let alone look at.”

Marcus backed away just as Alex swung the door open, Maggie standing behind her, and stormed towards him. “This him?” Alex asked as Kara gave a small nod, her whole body still obviously shaking. Alex grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and glared at him. “You ever touch my baby sister, ever hurt her, ever do anything to her, I will make sure you never see the light of day. Got it?”

Marcus rolled his eyes and snorted. “You are just a bitch who doesn’t know her place,” he sneered. “You side with freaks, you’re a traitor.”

Alex seethed at his words and kneed him in the crotch. A flash of panic slipped through the rage as the woman teaching Marcus a lesson looked at Kara who had been cowering in the corner of the office. Her anger intensified and she punched him in the face until he fell to the ground where she kicked him again and again and again until Maggie dragged her away.

“Okay, Danvers, I think that’s good enough,” Maggie told her. Holding her girlfriend’s hand, Maggie walked over to Kara and took her hand as well. “Let’s let him lie there and tell Cat Grant about this.” The other two women remained silent as they let the detective lead them out of the room. Maggie dropped Kara’s hand when she saw Lucy coming towards them, letting the green eyed brunette to take Kara into her arms where the blonde began to sob silently.

“He knows about Kara,” Alex growled as she scowled, still seething over the encounter. Her expression softened as she dropped Maggie’s hand and went to her sister. “Kara, I’m going to tell Cat Grant you can’t work with that piece of shit, okay?”

Kara looked up from Lucy’s shoulder and hesitated before nodding. “I think, I want to go home. And I need a phone, mine broke.” Lucy immediately pulled out her phone and handed it to Kara, allowing the other two to go tell Cat about the situation. Kara typed in Lena’s number and sent a text telling her to come to her apartment for lunch in a couple of hours. Kara handed the phone back to Lucy and wiped at her face, mumbling a thank you. The two just stood there, Kara leaning against the wall as Lucy rubbed her arm comfortingly, and waited for Alex and Maggie to come back.

“Let’s go,” Alex said as she approached the two. She held out her hand for Kara, who took it immediately, and nodded in thanks to Lucy. “Cat called Perry White and complained about the situation though she will probably get angry at me for beating him up so let’s go before she finds out. Also, you don’t have to work with him, they are sending Clark to work on the story with you. But Marcus will be still here since he has been the one writing about it so far.” There was no response from Kara as she pressed against her sister for comfort and Alex looked at Maggie worriedly. Alex had never seen Kara like this before. Over the past few days, Kara had gone from her usual sunny self to having breakdowns and appearing so broken. She was still sunny but there was a darkness to her that wasn’t there before.

“I want to go home,” Kara murmured. Blue eyes stared at the ground, ignoring the eyes and whispers that focused on her. She let Alex led her to the elevators and to her car. During the entire car ride she was silent save for informing Alex she needed a new phone. When they parked, Kara rushed out of the car and straight into her building, not waiting for Alex or Maggie. In less than a minute she was at Astra’s door and knocking wishing her aunt would hurry up and open the door.

“Kara?” Astra asked as Kara went straight past her and to Anya who was watching Paw Patrol eating some Goldfish. “Kara, what’s wrong?”

“Anya’s father,” Alex informed Astra when she reached the door, slightly out of breath. She and Maggie walked into the apartment as Astra closed the door behind them, the room instantly filling with tension with Astra and Maggie in the same room. “I think he knows Kara is an alien. Or that I work for the DEO and associate with aliens. He called me a ‘traitor’ and said that I sided with ‘freaks’.” Alex headed to Astra’s fridge and opened it to find her favorite beer inside, something Astra always makes sure to have on hand. “Kara, what did he say to you?” the short haired woman asked. “Does he know about you?”

Kara, who had lifted Anya onto her lap to hold protectively, simply watched the show her daughter was watching for a while. “He called me a ‘freak word I can’t say right now’ and Anya a ‘thing’ and ‘freak hybrid’. He knows. At least it seems like he won’t get anywhere near Anya, though.” Kara forced a smile when Anya turned on her lap to face her and made faces at her daughter when tiny fingers poked at her cheeks. “Are you having fun there? What have you been up to so far, sunshine?” Kara asked.

“Uh-huh,” Anya replied standing up on Kara’s lap to lean forward and practically smother Kara as she draped her arms over her mother’s head. “I had lots of fun with Aunt ‘Stra. We watched- we watched _Bubble Guppies_ and _Doc McStuffins_. Then she made me eggs with cheese and…” Anya continued to tell Kara of her day so far and it had an instant calming effect on the Kryptonian. Anya flopped onto the couch, much to her mother’s brief panic, and giggled when Kara began to tickle her. “Mommy, stop it that tickles.”

Kara scooped up Anya to put her back on her lap and smiled brightly at the small girl. “Do you not like tickles?” she asked innocently. Anya giggled and shook her head. Kara hummed and tilted her head. “If you don’t like tickles what do you like?”

“I like tickling you, Mommy,” Anya replied tickling Kara with her small fingers. Kara laughed and the atmosphere of the apartment brightened. The joy that came from the two was contagious and the other three women watched the mother and daughter interact with small smiles on their lips. “Aunt Lexie, huggie,” Anya said when she noticed her aunt after she tired of tickling Kara.

Alex walked over to Kara and Anya and lifted the child off Kara into her arms. “Hey, Anya, do you want to do something to surprise Mommy?” The little girl nodded excitedly and both looked at Kara as if to tell her not to listen. The older blonde put her hands over her ears and hummed the theme of _Bubble Guppies_ as they schemed. “You can take your hands off your ears, Kara?”

Kara lowered her hands and looked at her giggling child and smirking sister as she stood up. “I’m scared of what you two are planning. Should I be worried too?”

“Nope, it will be good,” Alex told Kara as she set Anya down and headed over to Maggie to give her a small peck, not noticing the downcast look on Astra’s face. “I’ll see you later, Sawyer. Astra, keep Kara here until I come to get her.” Alex smiled at the three women before leaving with her niece.

Kara shifted as she felt the tension in the room thicken and Maggie turned to look at Astra with a look of warning in her eyes. “Why do you look at my girlfriend like you want to ride off into the sunset with her?”

Before Kara could cut in, Astra replied, “I don’t think it’s possible to ride off into the sunset with another person. Wouldn’t that result in death?”

Maggie pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She glared at Astra and Kara was afraid the detective would start a fight. Only, Maggie just shook her head and walked towards the door. “Tell Alex to come over to my place tonight and to bring a movie,” Maggie said as she left the apartment.

Kara looked at her aunt as the older woman stared at the island counter with her jaw clenched. “Aunt Astra?” Kara asked softly as she walked towards her. Kara froze when the bottle Alex had been drinking out of flew across the room to shatter against the wall. Kara winced and took a step back. “Aunt Astra, I think we need to talk,” Kara murmured softly. Her aunt glanced up and gave a stiff nod before walking over to the couch to sit with Kara. Kara looked at her aunt for a moment, taking the woman’s hands in her own. “I know you are a private woman, but do you have feelings for Alex?” Kara felt weird asking the question but whatever was going on was beginning to get ridiculous. This wasn’t even the first time Astra had had an outburst like this in regards to Alex either. When Alex came out and was rejected by Maggie, Astra had gone to the training room at the DEO, the only place she can use her powers until she becomes a DEO agent, and demolished everything. When Maggie and Alex got together, Astra had gotten so wasted that Kara was afraid she would have to have her stomach pumped. Kara could not deal with another outburst, especially with Anya around.

Astra looked at the hands holding hers and sighed. “I know I haven’t been that subtle about my feelings for Alexandra but I was hoping I was less obvious than I appear to have been.” A bitter laugh left Astra’s lips as she shook her head. “How long have you suspected?”

Kara was surprised at Astra’s openness on the subject but she didn’t let herself lose this opportunity to talk to her aunt about something that needed to be talked about. “I’ve known since you were released from the DEO and asked to live with Alex when you had to stay under close watch instead of me. You were so adamant about it, it just raised some red flags.” Kara thought for a moment on how to handle the situation. She was on thin ice and if she said the wrong thing it could cause Astra to withdraw. “Astra,” Kara said slowly as she made sure this was what she wanted to ask, “how long have you felt this way?”

There was silence for the longest time as Kara studied Astra’s expression. A sad smile formed on the general’s lips as she thought about that first time she met Alex. “From the moment I met her when the Hellgrammite brought her to me. She was just so strong and brave. So beautiful.” Astra spoke softly and adoringly as she reminisced. There was a knock on the door and the expression vanished as Astra stood to go answer it as she asked Kara to clean up the shards from the bottle.

“I was told I could find Kara here?” Lena’s voice asked. “Apparently, no one is supposed to see the surprise yet.” There was a hint of amusement in Lena’s voice and Kara wondered if Anya had answered the door. If she had, it would have been a big step for the small six year old. Kara stood with the shards of glass in her hand and smiled at her friend as she walked over to throw away the remains of the bottle. “I know you said a few hours but I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

Kara’s smile faltered and she glanced down briefly before looking back up. “I’m fine,” she told Lena. “I’m guessing Lucy told you? I broke my phone so I had to borrow hers.” Kara walked over to the coffee table and turned off the TV, taking a moment to try to shake what lingered of when Lena kissed her the previous day. She turned back to Lena and asked, “So did they say how much longer they would be? I was hoping to cook something.”

Lena raised an eyebrow at the mention of Kara cooking. “I think your daughter said that ‘Aunt Lexie’ would be over soon.” Lena had remained by the door, keeping her distance from Kara, and it was clear that she was wanting to take a step closer. Not to get as close as they had been yesterday but just a bit closer to not feel as though there was miles between them.

A knock at the door and the sound of Anya’s giggles signaled it was time to leave and Kara grabbed Lena’s hand to led her across the hall, dropping her hand quickly at the memories of the previous day. Lena shrunk back, following Kara at a distance, and Kara felt her heart drop. She reached out her hand and took Lena’s again, smiling at the woman who confused her heart, before opening the door and finding Anya bouncing excitedly.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” Anya chanted as she began to spin until Kara dropped Lena’s hand and picked the freckled girl up. “Mommy, come look.” Anya tugged on Kara until her mother walked onto her own apartment to find a pillow fort that covered the entire living room area.

“Oh, wow,” Kara said as she walked in, setting Anya down so she could run under the blankets that made up the fort’s roof. “How did you guys make this?”

Alex crawled out from the fort and stood up. “Safety pins, flying- yes I was watching- and pouting. She has your pout and it’s even more effective on a tiny humanoid.” Alex checked her phone and walked over to the two, kissing Kara on the cheek as she said, “I gotta go. I’ll be over later for Sister Night around nine so Anya is already asleep. Bye, Lena.”

Then Alex was out the door and it was just Lena, Anya, and Kara. “Wanna go into the fort with her while I start making lunch? I am going to make some nuggets and tater tots. If you want a drink or if Anya does, just go into the fridge.” Kara watched Lena nod and head into the fort, the sounds of Anya cheerfully asking Lena to watch one of her shows with her causing a smile to appear on Kara’s face. “Anya, how many nuggets do you want?” Kara asked as she prepared to heat up the food. “You too, Lena.”

The sound of blankets rustling as Anya exited the fort caused Kara to glance towards her daughter as she walked over. She grabbed a red step stool and set it down next to Kara before stepping up to see what her mother was doing. “I want this many,” the little girl said as she pushed all but five of the nuggets towards the end of the tray she was closest to. Those can be Leelee’s.” The little girl hopped down as Kara glanced towards Lena who had her head poking out and chuckled when the brunette shrugged.

“Okay, I’ll make these for you and Leelee,” Kara told Anya before the blonde child ran back into the fort. The food didn’t take long to make as Kara used her heat vision to help speed things along. The three off them ate in the pillow fort and it felt like home to Kara inside of those blankets and pillows with Anya and Lena.

Between the little girl dancing, jumping, and tackle hugging the two women and Lena laughing, smiling, and just being Lena, Kara wondered if this was what it would be like to have a family. For the three hours, they spent in that fort, Kara was happy, beyond happy. A warmth filled her chest and as she played with her daughter and best friend, Kara hoped this could continue all day until Alex came over for their Sister Night. But Mon-El came into her apartment, clearly a bit drunk, and Lena had to go. Kara watched with disappointment as Lena left, giving Anya a hug and kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. There was a slight curiosity inside of her that wondered if perhaps she should have asked Lena to stay and Mon-El to leave but she wanted things to work with Mon-El. He would be good for Anya, at least that’s what she thought. He was like them, not human (though Anya was half human), and he would be great with her once Anya opened up to him. At least that’s what Kara hoped. She hoped and hoped that this would be the right thing. She liked Mon-El, it was easy with him and they worked because they were both not from Earth, making it easy for her to be herself. It was the right thing, right?

 

 

Sneak Peek:

 

_A medium ways down the road..._

 

_Kara screamed as tears fell from her glowing red eyes. When did she fall to her knees? When did she blast a hole into the wall of the warehouse? She had no idea and she didn't care. Screams turned into sobs and she hardly registered the arms around her trying to provide comfort. There was no comfort, not now, not until they found CADMUS. Not until she killed every last one of them for doing this. They would pay, they would suffer, they would beg for mercy she was not willing to give. They wanted a monster and she would give them a monster. Kara moved to stand but stumbled before she collapsed, all the energy drained from her body._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am starting to get into the first big plot idea I have for this and I'm kinda excited for it. I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek and the sorta How I Met Your Mother reference. I appreciate all criticism, feedback, kudos, comments, and ideas. I hope you enjoy.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, friends and lovely readers, I have started my first major plotline and I'm introducing two original characters. Now at the end of this chapter I have two questions that I'm asking because, while I am writing to create what I am inspired to, I am writing this for all of you and your input matters to me. One question is about another project I'm going to start but the other directly relates to this fic so it would be awesome if I got some input. The next update will take awhile I'm going to try to audition for some things coming up and so I won't have much writing time.  
> As always, I appreciate all comments, feedback, and kudos. Thank you all for enjoying my fic and every kudo and comment inspires me to write more so it is all very much appreciated. Feel free to find me at queenghostling on tumblr and I just made a fanfiction.net account under the same name I use here, witchofink. Please enjoy this update ^^ As always, any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Trigger Warning for abuse.

Kara wished she had asked Lena to stay. She really wished she had. Mon-El had her pushed against the wall, his lips on hers and the smell of alcohol flooding her senses. “Mon-El,” Kara uttered as she managed to push the Daxamite off her. He still was strong drunk but not stronger than her, though extremely close to her own strength. “We can’t do this now, Anya’s here.”

“Don't care. Heard what happened earlier and wanted to be with you,” he slurred before pinning her back against the wall and pressing his lips back on hers.

Kara felt the panic rise in her veins and course through her as she remembered what happened to her years ago. “Mon-El, get off,” she ordered as she pushed him off again. Her cheek stung and it took her awhile to realize he had just slapped her. Her blue eyes looked at him with horror and her mind went immediately to her daughter who was watching with a similar expression. “Anya, go into the bathroom.” The one thing Kara was thankful for in this apartment is that most of the breakable things, like doors and furniture, were break-proof. That’s why Kara told Anya to go to the bathroom to hide, it was the one place in the apartment she could be safe if Mon-El lashed out. Her daughter still stood there and Kara kept her eyes on Mon-El as he seemed to be processing the situation in his head. “Anya, get my phone and your headphones and sit in the tub without the water on. Lock the door I'll come get you. Anya.”

The little girl moved to do what her mother said and the click of the door snapped Mon-El out of his thoughts, his eyes filling with anger. “Why are you being like this? We are together, aren’t we?”

Kara kept her hands out to stop him if he came at her again and she looked at him in disbelief. “Wait, so you think just because we are dating I have to be ready to get intimate whenever you want? Despite the fact my six year old daughter might be in the room?” Kara pushed him back when he took a step towards her and he frowned at her. “I can’t believe you right now. Mon-El, you slapped me because I was rejecting your advances and you keep trying to kiss me? Don’t you understand the meaning of no?”

“You didn’t say no,” Mon-El countered. He swatted at Kara’s arms to get them out of his way, but Kara used her super speed to get away from him. “What the fuck, Kara? I just want to be with you and you keep turning me down. You are being so ridiculous.”

Kara groaned in frustration and put her hands to her head. “Rao, Mon-El, I just want you to consider my daughter. Before I didn’t have her around so we could be more intimate and stuff. But I’m a mom, I have to think about my child. That still doesn’t excuse the fact you hit me. Mon-El, you can’t do that. You can’t just hit me because I don’t want to do what you want to do.”

“Kara, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to,” he apologized, sounding earnest and sincere. “Baby, I'm so sorry. I promise I’ll think of Anya and what you want. I promise I’ll listen to you and respect you.”

Kara felt the steel she had summoned to face him fade away at the sad puppy look on his face and she put her hands on his cheeks. “You're drunk, I understand. You didn't mean to. It’s okay, Mon-El.” She pressed her lips against his and he kissed her back with a hunger that caused Kara to slightly panic. She pushed it down and pulled away, starting to head to the bathroom to get Anya when Mon-El grabbed her wrist tightly. “Mon-El, let me go.”

The Daxamite didn’t listen, pulling her to him roughly and kissing her again. Kara tried to push away but his hold on her was tight and unyielding. Panic flooded Kara’s system and she used all of her strength to break free from his grip. Kara looked at him, her panic clear in her eyes, and she felt tears fill her eyes as her boyfriend hit her hard enough to send her into the wall of her apartment. She slid down the wall to sit on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest, trying to make herself small. She flinched when he came towards her but nothing happened. The blonde buried her face in her arms, silent sobs shaking her body, and as time passed her panic lessened.

“Kara, I’m sorry,” Mon-El apologized in a sob. Kara looked up and saw that the man was in tears, causing her heart to ache at the sight. “I just, I drank too much and I don’t know what came over me. Please, forgive me. Please, Kara.” He was on his knees, looking at her pleadingly.

“Mon-El,” Kara murmured. She wiped her tears and looked at Mon-El. It was just the alcohol. He was still the sweet man she knew and liked. He was still Mon-El. There was a voice in the back of her head telling her to kick him out, to not forgive him, that she has given him too many chances. But he looked so sad, so apologetic. Kara held out a hand to signal for him to come over to her. “Just, please don’t do that again. Please, Mon-El. That’s not good and it hurts.” The blonde wrapped her arms around the man, his tears bleeding through her shirt.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m so sorry. I have no idea what I would do without you, please understand how sorry I am.” Kara just nodded and they stayed like that for a while. Mon-El pulled back and wiped his face with his sleeves. “Shouldn’t you get Anya?”

Kara stood up without a response and nodded. “Put in a movie for her. She likes _Frozen_.” Kara watched him get up to do what she told him to and took three deep breathes before going to the bathroom. “Anya, sunshine,” Kara said softly, knocking on the bathroom door. “Anya, come out.”

The door swung open and Anya flung herself into her mother’s arms. “Mommy,” she cried, her face wet with tears. Kara’s heart shattered and she held her daughter tightly. “Mommy, I was scared.”

Kara rubbed Anya’s back and felt tears returning to her eyes. “It’s okay, baby, I have you. Mommy is okay. Everything is okay.” The sound of a phone vibrating caused Kara to walk over to where she had left her phone and she picked up the call at the sight of Alex’s name. “Alex, it’s not a good time.”

“ _It’s CADMUS_ ,” Alex told Kara. “ _It looks like they are moving something but we don’t know what. Kara, we need you._ ”

Kara sighed and pressed her lips against Anya’s forehead. Her eyes closed and she thought about what she should do. The DEO needed her, but so did Anya. Kara shifted her head to rest her forehead against the top of Anya’s head and she sighed. “Let me take Anya to Astra and I’ll be over. I’ll send Mon-El over but he isn’t really fit for fighting today.” Before Alex could reply, Kara hung up and slipped her phone into her pocket. “Mon-El, go to the DEO. I have to do some Supergirl stuff.” Kara opened her eyes and looked at Anya, just looked at her daughter and took in how precious she was. She was so small, so shy, so sweet. Anya was her sunshine. “I love you,” she murmured to her daughter as she held her tightly to her chest. “You are going to have to stay with Aunt Astra for a bit, but I’ll be back.”

Anya tightened her grip and buried her face in Kara’s neck as the Kryptonian exited her apartment, holding the door open for Mon-El before she locked it. “No,” Anya mumbled into her mother’s neck. “Take me. I don’t wanna leave you.”

Kara kissed Anya’s head as she knocked on the door of her aunt’s place and felt her heart ache. “Anya, I can’t take you, it’s dangerous. You need to stay here and I’ll come straight home to you. I’ll even bring Aunt Lexie with me and she told me she was going to get you your favorite ice cream. Can you be a good girl and stay?” Astra appeared as the door opened and Anya remained attached to Kara until the tiny child slowly loosened her grip and looked at her mother. “I’ll be back, I promise. I will never, ever, ever leave you. I will always be here for you. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, and I will make sure no one ever takes you away from me or me away from you.” Kara’s words seemed to work because Anya pressed her lips to Kara’s cheek before twisting to hold out her arms for Astra to take her. “I’ll be back. I promise.”

Kara turned and she wondered why this time felt different as she headed to do her hero duties. Was it because it was CADMUS? Or maybe it was because of the shared fear they had experienced when Mon-El had lashed out at her. Either way, leaving Anya this time felt harder than it had over the past days since Anya started living with her. The blonde shook her head and made her way into an alley to take off. Within minutes she was on the ground next to Alex and the DEO team that was present. They were outside of a warehouse that the things being transported had apparently been taken too. It felt off, it felt strange, it felt different. Then the smell reached her nose and Kara gagged.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked Kara as the hero grabbed onto her for support from the offensive odor. “Supergirl, what is it?” Alex made a sound of protest as Kara simply dragged her towards the warehouse. “Kara, wait we don’t know what’s in there!” Alex protested but her eyes widened as Kara opened the doors of the warehouse to reveal dozens of bodies. “Oh my God.” Alex looked at Kara as the hero let go of her hand and turned to start giving orders, including one to notify Maggie and the NCPD Science Division. “Hey, are you okay?” Alex asked as she noticed Kara hadn’t moved, standing completely still staring at the bodies on the floor.

“Alex, there’s a little kid in there,” Kara informed Alex in a soft voice. She began to walk forward, looking at the bodies as she walked by. There were aliens, humans, and then there were bodies that looked to have originally been human but then had alien features added through experimentation. Kara stopped when she reached the body of a thin alien teenage boy. He was covered in grey scales that shimmered in the light like a fish’s and on his bald head was a pair of what resembled cat ears only smaller and covered in scales rather than fur. He wore a hospital gown and his webbed hands were covered in a black substance. Kara knelt down and studied his face. “He was just a kid.”

“Hey, we got someone who is still alive!”

One of the ears on the boy twitched and Kara immediately stood up and looked at Alex. “This boy is alive too! Someone call for a medical team!” Kara floated off the ground and began to look to see if anyone else was alive from the air. She searched for ten minutes, checking each body for signs of life, until she had to give up and walk over to Alex who was telling people what to do. “Those two are the only ones,” Kara told her sister.

Alex turned and ran a hand through her hair. “The two survivors were the only kids in there so I think that’s at least a bonus. I sent them ahead to be looked after. One of them, the girl Mattler found, was in really bad shape. I’ll meet you at the DEO, we have to talk about this.” Alex turned and walked to the car waiting for her. She gave Kara one last look before closing the door before the car drove off.

Kara took the the skies and soon landed on the DEO balcony entrance. Her skin crawled and she felt as though her whole body was numb as it registered how many bodies there had been. They only managed to get two. Just two out of dozens. It didn't feel like it was enough. Then Kara remembered the story she was now assisting with and she walked up behind Winn as the team talked about the situation.

“Winn, move,” Kara commanded as she reached for the mouse and keyboard. The tech guy yelped as she pushed his chair back with her foot and Kara pulled up the pictures from the murder story. “It's the same. The murders are just the bodies CADMUS dumped.”

J'onn rubbed his chin and studied the images on the large screens. “Can you use your identity as Kara Danvers to look further into this? We can talk to the children when they are awake and run tests on the bodies we extracted from the scene.” He turned to some agents and ordered, “Agent Vasquez, I want you and five other agents watching those children while they recover and listen to whatever Agent Danvers tells you. “Agent Mattler, I want you and Agent Karver to see if you can figure out what direction the vehicles that brought those bodies there came and went.” The agents nodded and left just as Alex came running in. “Alex, what is it?”

“The girl doesn’t speak English or any language on Earth that I know,” Alex explained, pushing Winn back to his desk by the back of his chair. “I need you to take this recording I took of her speaking when she woke up and figure it out.” Winn nodded and plugged in his earbuds to Alex’s phone to listen to the recording, Alex walking over to the round table to talk to Kara and J’onn. “She passed out again and I have no idea what I’m doing. Her blood is nothing like I’ve ever seen and her wounds aren’t healing. The boy has yet to wake up, too. Do you recognize what they are?”

Kara tried to think back to what she had learned back on Krypton but her mind came up blank. She shook her head and wondered if Astra would know, but since her aunt had Anya she couldn’t ask her to come over. “I’ve never seen any species like that boy before. He was like a fish but also a cat it was interesting.”  
“The boy is a Malaaran from the planet Mal,” J’onn told them. He nodded his head to someone at a computer and a picture of what looked like an older version of the boy appeared on the large screens. “Malaarans have both aquatic and terrain based features. He seems to be on the more aquatic side based on his scales.” J’onn put his hands on the round table and leaned his weight onto his arms. “The girl is what concerns me. Something feels off.”

Someone ran up to Alex and the tall brunette nodded as she turned to head back to the med bay. “Kara, why don’t you come with. Maybe you can get Astra on the phone and she can help.” Alex ran down the hall without waiting for an answer and went to help the two children.

Kara dialed her aunt as she walked down the hall. It rang three times before someone picked up, Anya’s voice greeting, “ _Mommy?_ ” Kara smiled at the sound of her daughter’s voice and the fact Astra had probably said she was calling. “ _Are you coming home soon?_ ”

“No, sunshine, something came up and I need to speak to Aunt Astra. Can you put her on? I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can. I will bring you all the ice cream I can and so will Aunt Lexie.” Kara slowed down as she got closer, watching Alex work on the small girl whose white hospital gown was damp with blackness. There was a grumble on the other end and Kara entered the room as some of the other medical staff members left since the girl was the only one who needed aid. “Anya’s handing the phone to Astra now,” she told Alex as she looked at the girl.

“Good,” Alex responded as she moved the girl’s gown out of her way to wrap gauze around her sides where she was bleeding black blood. “Hold her in a sitting position so I can wrap this around. Those idiots they sent me are useless so I sent them to work on the samples we have so we can figure out what to do.” The pair ignored the black tattoos on the girl’s torso, more focused on covering up what looked like stab wounds.

“Alex, wait,” Kara said as she looked at the wounds closely. “There’s something silver in there.” Kara gently set the girl down and placed the phone on speaker so she could set it down. The hero grabbed a pair of tweezers and dish and used her enhanced vision to start extracting the silver flecks. “Is this her only wound?” Kara asked.

“No, but it’s the deepest,” Alex informed her as she began looking carefully for the silver flecks that Kara found. Her sister grabbed her own pair of tweezers and dish before starting to carefully extract the flecks. “I need to run tests on this. I wonder if this is affecting her like how Kryptonite affects you?”

“ _Hello, Kara?_ ” Astra voice questioned. There was talking that was unintelligible and Astra added, “ _Anya wishes to remind you that you and Aunt Lexie are to bring her all the cookie dough ice cream. I hope you plan to get more than just that, your food supplies are lacking._ ”

Kara furrowed her brows and paused in her actions. “Are you in my apartment? Why are you in my apartment?”

“ _Anya wanted to watch a movie that I did not own nor was it on the Netflix._ ” Kara closed her eyes and sighed before returning to removing the silver flecks. “ _Kara, why did you call?_ ”  
Before Kara could answer, Alex set her equipment down, having finished on her side of the girl with what she could reach, and looked over the girl as Kara worked. “There’s a girl we found where it seems CADMUS has been dumping bodies. There was a Malaaran boy alive there as well. The girl doesn’t speak English and we were wondering if you have perhaps run into or heard about whatever this child is in your travels back when you were in the Military Guild on Krypton.”

“ _What does this child look like?_ ”

Alex straightened up and began to describe, “Her skin is extremely pale, though, I think that’s due to blood loss. Her blood is black, by the way. She has these tattoos on her arms and body. Her hair-”

“ _Is short, wild, and messy,_ ” Astra completed for Alex. There was a sting of Kryptonian curses coming from Astra and a sigh. “ _Whatever you do, don’t let that girl die. And she isn’t a child, well not compared to anyone in that facility, she’s three thousand Earth years old. She’s Twilae, one of two sentient species that occupy the planet Shadwe. Her name is Kaeki. If she wakes up say, ‘Astra_ taez op _’. You are basically telling her I’m coming._ ” Astra hung up and the sisters looked at the girl on the table.

“Um, should I be concerned if Astra is panicked?” Alex asked as Kara handed her the last of the silver flecks. “I feel like I should be. Should I be?”

Kara looked at the girl, taking in the black, thick line tattoos that seemed to be paired, a pair wrapping around her waist to circle her belly button and another to wrap about her thighs. There was another going up the spine of the girl just like the ones on her torso. On the girl’s arms, there were black bands tattooed on her wrists with what looked like tattoos of chains wrapping up her arms to her shoulders. She was pale, almost paler than Lena, and so small. She couldn’t be older than eight how could she be three thousand years old? Alex swore as the girl seemed to morph into an older version of herself, looking more like she was in her late teens, and white eyes shot open. The girl sat up and began to shake visibly as her white eyes widened in fear. Behind Kara the cat-fish boy stirred and a trill-like sound filled the room, causing everyone to look at the Malaaran.

“She doesn’t speak English,” he grumbled in an almost strangled voice. He coughed and beat his fist over his chest. “I already tried when we were in the truck,” he added, his voice sounding normal though a slight purring quality accompanied his words. His grey scales shimmered and turned navy as he glared at the two sisters with his green cat eyes. “I’m Zelo. You are the group that helps aliens, aren’t you?”

Alex nodded and walked to the doorway to tell Vasquez to get some food and water. “We are here to help you. Do you have a family or anyone we can call? Someone must be worried about you.” She went over to the boy and looked at Kara. “Tell her what Astra told us to tell her,” she told the blonde before starting to examine the boy.

“Oh, oh yeah,” Kara said before looking at the white eyes full of fear and panic. Kaeki was back to the younger version of herself and Kara wondered how she was doing that age shifting thing. “Kaeki,” she said, getting the girl’s attention. “Astra, _taez op_.” It didn’t sound as good as when Astra said it but it seemed to have calmed the girl down.

Kaeki remained silent but her eyes were on Kara. Her body lost the tension and she wasn’t shaking anymore which was a good sign. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, settling to stay in her younger version, and watched as Alex examined Zelo. Kara noticed that the wounds on the Twilae’s side were already healed and Kara wondered if those silver flakes kept the girl from healing.

As for Alex’s patient, it seems, from what Kara overheard, that he was a refugee from his warring planet and had been taken in by humans who turned him over to CADMUS. He was thirteen and it turns out he not only has three hearts, but also he can change the color of his scales like he demonstrated earlier, he can raise up spikes that go along his spine all the way to the tip of his tail, and he has gills. Alex was bombarding him with questions to make sure she could accurately make sure he was okay and he was answering rather coldly though it didn’t seem like he was actually being cold. Kara got the sense that he was holding some facts back but she didn’t touch on it. If the boy didn’t want to say, then he didn’t have to say.

Vasquez popped into the room with a bag of food and two bottles of water, a duffel bag hanging from her shoulder. “I got the food I brought for work today, I can just get more later, and two water bottles. There are clothes in the bag.” She handed the items off to Alex and the taller woman handed the food to Kara and the bottles to each of the kids. “Should I go tell Director J’onzz?”

Alex nodded. “Tell him both children are awake and that the girl is a Twilae named Kaeki. Warn him to find someone to entertain a certain shy six year old because Astra’s coming over.” The agent nodded and rushed off to alert J’onn while the Alex waited for Astra to come so she could go to her lab to work. “Can you stand?” she asked Zelo. She pulled out a t-shirt and sweatpants from the duffle and held it out for the boy as he nodded. “If you need privacy I can have Supergirl take Kaeki to my lab and I can go outside.” The woman picked up the duffle and slipped it over her shoulder as she waited for a response.

The boy nodded at the offer of privacy and Kara carefully picked up the pale girl to take her to Alex’s lab. She still had the food and Kaeki held her water bottle tightly in her hands. “I’ll take her to your lab and have her change,” Kara said as she held out an arm for the duffle. She felt the girl tense as she held her with just one arm and smiled reassuringly. She slid the duffel onto her shoulder, placed the food inside of the bag, and put her other arm back under the girl to hold her. She walked out and towards the lab that belonged solely to her sister while the older woman remained back with the Malaaran. A familiar sound reached her ears along with the sound of a gruff voice talking softly and she knew she would find her aunt in the lab.

Just as Kara thought, Astra was sitting on one of the examination tables when she got there and the girl in Kara’s arms perked up immediately. Astra stood and mumbled curses under her breath. “I was afraid it was actually her. Here, set her down.” Astra moved so Kara could set the girl down. The older woman took the duffel and pulled out the bag of food, taking a wrapped burger out to give it to Kaeki. She sat down next to the girl and grabbed a large sweatshirt from the bag, putting it on Kaeki as the Twilae examined the wrapped burger. Astra spoke to the girl in a language Kara had never heard her speak and the realization flashed across the girl’s face as she unwrapped the food. Astra continued to put gym shorts on the girl and the same thoughtful expression remained on her face.

“Who is she?” Kara asked. “And is it normal for her to look eight one moment and then like nineteen the next?” Kara wondered if there was anything else that the girl could do. It would be interesting to learn about a new culture and people but that would probably have to wait until after they stopped CADMUS. “When did you meet her?”

Astra sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I met her when I was stationed on Shadwe to help end the war between the Twilae and the other species that lived on the planet, the Lunix. While there I ended up becoming more of a personal guard.” Astra looked at the girl taking delicate, small bites and closed her eyes. “I was basically to protect the leader of the Twilae’s daughter. This is that girl. I never knew what happened to the planet, I left before the war ended, but I’m glad she is still alive.”

Kara looked at her aunt and wondered why the woman never told her. She had told Kara about many of her off-world missions for the Military Guild, so why not this story? A shout from down the hall caused her to turn around just as Anya leapt at her and clung to her neck. “Oof.” Kara stumbled back a bit, letting Anya think she is stronger than she is, and wrapped her arms around the child. J’onn appeared in the doorway just as Alex came in with Zelo and his eyes scanned those in the room. “Anya, why didn’t you stay with J’onn?”

“ _Vaea_.” It was soft, hardly heard at all, but Kaeki’s word caused all eyes to be on her. Those words were the first she had spoken since she woke up and it seemed she was aiming her words at the blonde child in Kara’s arms.

All eyes shifted to Astra, hoping the warrior knew what those words meant. Astra looked at Kaeki, confusion flashing across her face before shifting into a reassuring smile. “She called Anya a star or light, the translation can vary.” Astra spoke softly to the girl and the Twilae nodded as the woman spoke.

J’onn looked at Alex and said, “I expect a full report with all the information you can gather on them. I’ll have rooms set up for them so they have a place to stay assuming they have nowhere else.” Alex nodded and J’onn walked over to Kara and Anya. His eyes looked at Kara with a look of worry but that soon disappeared as he returned to his normal gruff exterior. “You take her home and be with her. Perhaps get her some ice cream because she’s thinking about it really loudly and it’s giving me a headache.”

“You can read Anya’s mind? I thought you can’t read Kryptonian minds.” Kara looked at J’onn confused and ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, rubbing at her scalp softly without really realizing that was what she was doing. “I guess maybe she doesn’t fully take after me after all.” Her words sounded disappoints, which she was, but she regretted using that tone while Anya could hear because the little girl tightened her grip.

“I can only read her thoughts if she is thinking intensely about something,” J’onn informed her. “I have things to do. Go home. Alex, I expect those reports by seven. Astra, you go home too. You can come by tomorrow.” He didn’t leave room for Astra to protest before he left.

Kara glanced at her aunt and motioned with her head for the older woman to follow. “You’re driving. You have the booster seat after all.” Kara smiled at her aunt and began to walk out to the hall. “You okay to handle a teenage boy and an age shifting girl on your own?”

Alex looked at Astra and then at the girl and frowned. “I might actually need Astra to stay. She speaks the language and she knows about Twilaes- Twilae? - so she could be a huge help. Can you go home on your own? I’ll send her your way as soon as I’m done with her.” Alex looked at Kara and the blonde shrugged. “What? Why you shrug?”

“I’m not the one who wanted Astra to go home. I want to take a nap to be honest, I’ve dealt with some stuff today. Anya will take a nap too if I take one with her. You still are coming over tonight and bring the ice cream.” Kara turned to her aunt and asked, “Can I have the keys or do you want to keep your car? I don’t feel like I have the energy to fly right now but I’ll understand if you need your keys” Astra dug in her pockets and handed Kara the keys, still listening to what Kaeki was telling her in the soft, gossamer voice she had. “Okay, I’ll be off then.” Kara smiled at those in the room, not dwelling on the fact Zelo was softly purring as he answered Alex’s questions in the same icy tone as before.

As Kara left the room and headed to the parking garage of the DEO, her ears picked up J’onn’s stern voice scolding someone. Kara paused as she listened carefully, wondering who was on the receiving end of J’onn’s mild anger.

“How could you do something like that, Mon-El? You traumatized that poor child,” J’onn scolding in a harsh and low voice. Kara felt her heart drop and she pressed her lips to Anya’s head as she continued to listen.

“I was drunk, I wasn’t in control,” Mon-El countered. Kara could imagine that he was trying to walk away from the Martian though Kara knew from experience that one could not escape a scolding from J’onn. “I’ll make sure not to drink as much next time. Usually, I’m a happy drunk, maybe I just drank too much and my anger came out.”

“Next time don’t take your anger out on Kara in front of her child. Don’t take your anger out on her at all. This is inexcusable, Mon-El. I’m going to have to do the only thing I can do right now and suspend you. Also, I’m not putting a rent in place if you want to continue living here. We can talk about that later but from what I am thinking, you won’t have enough to buy alcohol unless you want to starve. You also have to clean the locker room and some of the prisoner cells. If one prisoner escapes I’m locking you in one lined on the inside with lead.” J’onn paused and Kara could picture him staring her boyfriend down. “Do I make myself clear?”

There was a grumble from Mon-El and Kara was pulled back to where she was by Anya squirming in her arms. “What is it, sunshine?” Kara asked though she already had a good guess. “Do you need to use the potty?” The little girl nodded and Kara looked up as she began to walk to the nearest restroom. As she walked in, Kara locked eyes with Vasquez as she set her daughter down so she could run into one of the stalls. “Hey, I hardly see you around anymore. How are you doing?”

The short haired woman smiled at the hero and shrugged. “I’m doing fine. Are you okay? You’re one cheek is looking a bit darker than the other. Did something happen earlier? I know you didn’t leave when you were dealing with those kids.”

The color drained from Kara’s face and she walked over to look at herself in the mirror. There appeared to be a light bruise forming where Mon-El hit her and she felt her hands begin to shake, grabbing her arms to hide the trembling. “Oh, there was some stuff being thrown earlier, you know children,” Kara replied trying to play it off. She looked at herself and wondered if there would be similar bruises where he grabbed her and from when he knocked her into the wall. Some dark emotion filled her, running through her veins and speeding up her heart in a panic. She didn’t have the ability to breakdown so she managed to keep herself together as she looked down at Anya as the little girl came out of the stall, lifting her up so she could use the sink.

Vasquez gave her a little wave before leaving and Kara set Anya down. “Why didn’t you tell them about Meanie?” It took Kara awhile to understand that she was referring to Mon-El and she couldn’t answer. Anya must have understood because she took the paper towel and looked at her mother with her big, blue eyes. “Is Meanie going to be over tonight? Is Aunt Lexie coming over?”

Kara took Anya’s hand and walked with her to the parking garage. “Mon-El won’t be over tonight but Aunt Lexie will.” Kara pulled Astra’s keys to her Jeep from her pocket and opened the back door to put Anya in her seat. “And she should be bringing ice cream.” Kara smiled as she closed the door and walked around to get into the driver’s seat. “Mommy wants to nap so you can either nap with Mommy or draw while sitting on Mommy’s bed so you can make sure no monsters come to hurt me. Does that sound good?” Kara looked in the rearview mirror to watch Anya nod. Kara sat back in the chair and took three deep breathes before pulling out and heading home. Hopefully that night would go better than the rest of the day had.

 

*~*~*

 

It was not going better, not by a long shot. Anya had referred to Mon-El as Meanie ten times that night before she fell asleep on Alex’s lap and Alex did not take the fact Kara seemed to be having trouble explaining something well. The only good part was that Maggie was there to lighten the mood. The detective was unsure of how she felt being known as Aunt Maggie but she didn’t deny Anya what she wanted. Anya still hadn’t warmed up to Maggie but she was starting which was good. Kara wondered if perhaps Maggie would really become Anya’s aunt, she liked her sister with the cop.

“Kara, just say what you want to say,” Alex groaned after Kara trailed off for the fifth time. She sat up, taking her head off Maggie’s shoulder, and looked at her little sister harshly. “What happened? Was it something that happened today? Was it something that happened yesterday? It must have been something that happened yesterday you asked for a Sister Night yesterday. What is it Kara, I want to go home and sleep. Do you know how hard it is to deal with a teenage cat-fish with three hearts, two stomachs, and a surprisingly small bladder? And that was just Zelo. Kaeki was silent the whole time and I know absolutely nothing about what she is. I have to go in tomorrow to run tests and to see if what Astra says is correct. I half want to believe her when she says that those tattoos are actually tails. Five of them, Kara, she supposedly has five tails that are similar to that of a fox’s. And ears, apparently, there’s fox ears. It’s like she came out of a fucking anime.” Alex leaned back onto Maggie and Kara was thankful Anya was already in bed because she surely would have woken up from Alex’s rant. “So for the love of all that is divine, please just tell me what the fuck is up.”

Maggie was giving her a look that begged her to speak up and Kara sighed. “First off, language. I know Anya is asleep but-”  
“So help me, Kara, I’ll strangle you,” Alex cut in.

“Okay, Lena kissed me,” Kara told them finally. They both looked at her expectantly and the blonde looked down at her hands. “And I kissed her back. It kinda got a bit heated until I pulled back.” She looked up and could see them thinking. “I just feel guilty because I’m with Mon-El and now I know she likes me and I’m just guilty.”  
Maggie laughed and shook her head. “You didn’t notice she likes you until just recently? Kara, you are one oblivious space puppy.” Maggie rubbed Alex’s thigh and stood up. “Look, Kara, we can’t tell you want to do. It’s even more difficult to figure out what to do now cause you got Anya. I know Lena can handle you turning her down, she will probably justify it because you have Anya. But think of Anya and what’s best for her. She’s six and she is extremely shy and completely adores you. Listen to your heart too. You’ll know what to do. Well, you will know better than a grumpy Alex and an overwork Maggie who needs to be up in like six hours.” Maggie held out her hand for Alex to take as the taller woman stood up. “Sleep a bit, tomorrow is Saturday so you can sleep all you need, and then think about it tomorrow. We’ll see you for in the evening for Game Night if that's still on.”

“Yeah, we are still doing it,” Kara said with a nod. “And thanks, Maggie, I’ll keep that in mind. I should sleep, Anya will be up in like seven hours and so that means I’ll be up too.” The couple left and Kara saw them off. She closed the door and wondered what she should do. Anya didn’t seem to be all so keen on Mon-El but Kara really liked him, or so she thought, Maybe the tiny blonde would warm up to him. And then there was Lena who got along so well with Anya. Lena was good with Anya in a way she didn’t think anyone could be. She felt like she needed to be with Mon-El though, it was what was expected, wasn’t it?

Kara sighed and headed to her bed, looking at the six year old clutching Kara’s pillow with her abandoned stuffed rabbit behind her. A smile found its way to Kara’s lips and she climbed in next to Anya. She needed a bigger place, a place better for Anya. For now, though, perhaps being able to hold her close, hold her to make up for those past five years she hadn’t, was what was best for now. Kara pulled Anya close to her chest, providing her daughter with the safety and security she had wanted to give her for years as she held her, and pressed her lips to Anya’s sleeping head. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, and I won’t let anyone ever take you away from me,” she whispered softly, so softly that she wondered if she had even spoken the words out loud.

“Promise?” Anya asked in a sleepy and breathy whisper.

Kara blinked but smiled and nodded. “Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, like I said at the top of this chapter thing, I have two questions. My first question is that I'm thinking of starting a new supercorp fic and I'm thinking of adding one or two of the children that are in this fic. If I add Anya she will be considered a supercorp kid cause those two would already be together. So that's the first question, should I include one or two of the children and if so which? Now the second question applies to this fic. Who should take in Zelo and who should take in Kaeki? The superfam, Astra, and Lena are options for this btw. I have an idea but I am not exactly sure and I want to give the rare chance of having the readers decide.  
> Btw, both Kaeki and Zelo are from alien species of my own creation and I will be glad to answer any and all questions about them.  
> Thank you for reading and I love hearing from you all and receiving your kudos. I hope you are enjoying the story and don't forget to check out my other fic which is Lena-centric, At Least I Got You in My Head.


	6. Chapter Six... Or The End of Karamel Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last chapter I did some things which I know weren’t that well received and even I didn't like that chapter, I did not like writing the Mon-El abusing Kara part, but they were completely on purpose in order for things to occur in the future which I can't hint at or say without spoiling stuff. I do have things in the chapter that I hope elaborate on why things happened (like Kara allowing the relationship to last, not fighting back, and why she seems so not like herself). The plot is starting and it is thickening. We see more of the two children and what they can do. I also hope ya'll noticed all the foreshadowing I included last chapter including the hero name I have for Anya which probably won't be used in this fic but I couldn't help but plan her becoming a hero and what she would be like as one. This chapter focus more on Kara and her rediscovering herself and her identity. But this is a slow burn so no Supercorp yet though it's just on the horizon.  
> Thank you btw to anyone who gave their answers to my questions which I'm still accepting answers for. I'll decide who has which child next chapter and I'll wait a bit more to see if anyone else wants Anya in my new supercorp fic which is going to be called Dare to Die. Your comments really are the reason I got this chapter up today I woke up suddenly knowing exactly what was going to be in this chapter and I wrote half of it on my phone during my finals reviews. So thank you for all the comments. I appreciate all forms of feedback, positive or negative (if its negative most of the time I'm probably right there with you depending), comments, and kudos. You can find me on tumblr at queenghostling. I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^

Kara knew. Kara knew from the moment she started to slip into sleep. Knew from each moment she woke up in the middle of the night. She knew all along. It was time to figure things out and she already knew one thing. Mon-El was to leave her life. Perhaps not forever but for a long time. She didn't want him near Anya, didn't want him to have another chance to hurt her or her daughter, didn't want him to be able to make her feel sorry for him and just forgive him just as she had since they began dating. He had used her past trauma to be able to abuse her, alcohol or not. Mon-El had taken the opportunity of her being frozen in fear and panic to try to get what he wanted almost like Marcus had done six years ago. She refused to give him another chance to hurt her nor a chance to hurt Anya.

So there she was, standing in front of Mon-El in the training room at the DEO with Anya back at home where Lucy was watching her. There Kara was about to do something she should have done long ago. Kara closed her eyes and remembered, actually remembered for the first time since she started dating Mon-El, who she was. She was Kara Danvers, reporter at CatCo and the mother of a wonderful six year old girl. She was Supergirl, the Girl of Steel who stood as a beacon of hope for National City. And finally, she was Kara Zor-El, the last daughter of the great House of El. She was strong, independent, and smart. Somewhere along the way she lost that steel, that intelligence, that sense of identity. She knew it was because of Mon-El. She had been so busy catering to him that she lost herself and became what he wanted. Maggie’s words made her realize that she had to do what's best for Anya. What was best for herself. She was not going to let Mon-El guilt her or make her feel like she had to stay with him anymore. She felt so stupid knowing she had always just gone back to him, never standing by what she said or sticking to her values. She let him get away with putting her down, with making her feel bad for being Supergirl, for making her doubt herself. She was done with it. Mon-El hadn't changed and Kara couldn't wait for him to. It wasn't what her heart wanted. It was not what was best for Anya.

“So why do you want to talk in private?” Mon-El asked. He looked at her with eyes full of confusion. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was standing straight. Kara wondered if he knew what was happening and if he was preparing to try to guilt her into staying. She wouldn't give in to that though, she was going to end this. For herself and Anya.

“This is over, Mon-El,” Kara told him as she looked him dead in the eyes, not bothering on letting him down easily. The words were said in a way that made it clear this was nonnegotiable. There was a finality to it and Kara felt the pieces of herself come together again. The look of shock on Mon-El’s face in reaction to her straight to the point statement felt oddly satisfying but Kara didn't waiver, still looking him dead in the eyes with certainty and steel.

Mon-El shook his head and made a move to step forward before the red glow of Kara’s eyes stopped him. His brain seemed to register that this was actually happening and the shock was replaced by anger. “Kara, you can't be serious about this. You need me and we make a great team. Is this because if that stupid-”

“Don't you dare finish that sentence!” Kara snapped. “I don’t need you. All you’ve done is ignore what I say, disrespect me, put me down, and make me doubt everything I’ve done. I don’t need you at all.” She couldn't believe she stayed with him this long. Was she really that susceptible to giving in to the expectations of others? She let those expectations put her in the palm of the Daxamite’s hand. She let those expectations make her believe Mon-El was good for her, even that he was good for Anya when he clearly wasn’t. She was about to place those same expectations on her daughter, expecting Anya to warm up to a man who used her mother’s past trauma against her to attempt to take what he wanted right in front of her. Kara felt horrible making those assumptions, those expectations. “I'm done, Mon-El, I'm done being the woman you made me become. I forgot who I was because of you. I let you tear me down, making me feel like I was doing the wrong thing. You scold me and make me doubt myself just by doing my job as Supergirl. You make me think that this works when all it does is take away who I am. You used my trauma from six years ago against me in front of my child.”

“I was drunk,” Mon-El argued.

“That's not an excuse,” Kara told him. Her voice was low and steady, calm in a way despite her frustration that he wasn’t just accepting this, while his was just loud and angry. “You hit me and tried to take advantage of the fact I was terrified. You know what happened to me. I told you about it that night Anya was with Astra.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I realize now I was only with you because it was easy and it was expected of me. No one was there but you and I didn't want to feel so alone. But this, this isn't good. It's not healthy and it's bad for Anya. It's bad for me.” Kara shook her head when Mon-El opened his mouth and continued, “This has been long overdue. We never should have have gotten together and as soon as Anya came to live with me it should have ended.”

There was a muttered threat from Mon-El spoken so softly Kara could only hear with her super hearing, “That stupid kid had to ruin everything. If I see that kid ever-” Kara’s eyes flaring red cut him off and a look of terror flashed across his face as Kara clenched her jaw and fists.

“How dare you just threaten Anya,” Kara snapped through gritted teeth. There was pure rage on her face and she took a step towards him, her eyes still a threatening red. “Anya is the best thing in my life right now and if you ever so much as look at her I will personally throw you into deep space. If you lay a finger on her I will tear you apart, Mon-El of Daxam. If you hurt my baby, I will kill you.” The rage in her voice shocked her but, if anything did happen to Anya, Kara knew she would do all of this and more to whoever hurt her child. She let a small blast of heat vision escape her eyes to knock him into the wall before pulling out the envelope of money Mon-El had given her. She threw it against his chest hard enough to cause him to wince. “I never used it. Use it to pay that new rent of yours.” With that Kara turned and walked out of the room, the sound of Mon-El punching the concrete blocks following her.

As Kara walked down the halls, thinking of going to tell Alex what happened, when she found J'onn standing in the hall as if waiting for her. “Did you do it?” he asked as Kara stopped beside him. He was leaning against the wall and he watched as Kara did the same. His eyes watched her softly as the blonde nodded, seeming to understand what he was saying. “I knew you would on your own. You would figure it out. I do plan to take on his training myself so I can teach him a _lesson_.” J'onn chuckled at his pun but Kara just groaned. “Oh it wasn't that bad of a pun.” He stepped away from the wall and wrapped his arms around the Kryptonian. “You did good. I'm glad you broke things off, he was changing you. I hope you take the time to find yourself and to take the time to focus on Anya.” The Martian released Kara and smiled at her in the fatherly way Kara came to see him in. “Now, I think it's my turn to deal with the resident prince. No promises he will come out unscathed.” A chuckle came from his throat and he walked past her into the room she just came from.

Kara took a deep breath and couldn't help but smile. She was free. Free from Mon-El and the woman he turned her into. That weak, dependent, passive woman that let Mon-El treat her how he did and let him stay longer than he should. The thought of Anya popped into her head and the feeling of happiness filled her even more. Anya wouldn't have to live in fear nor would Kara have to fear Mon-El hurting Anya. If he even attempted to go near Anya Kara would hurl him all the way into space, perhaps even the Sun. She finally felt like herself for the first time in a while. There was no pressure to conform to the image Mon-El placed on her. No expectations other than to be a good mother and a good hero. This was the turning point.

Kara made her way down the hall to Alex’s lab where her sister was nowhere to be seen. The blonde looked around and noticed an agent walking by and she asked, “Have you seen Alex?” The agent pointed her down the hall and directed her to a room she had never been in before. Kara thanked the agent and walked over to the door. “Alex, I have something I need to tell you,” she announced as she walked into the room.

The room was large and housed several punching bags and targets with a wall lined with weapons. It seemed to be the training room for the regular agents that didn't need special equipment like she did. On the far side of the room Alex and Astra were standing with Zelo and Kaeki, and Kara assumed they were testing the abilities of the children. Kaeki was still in her younger form but she was wearing a black dress with no sleeves and the neckline reached halfway up her throat. Zelo was still in his clothes from yesterday, minus the shirt and apparently a hole for his scaled cat-like tail, and Kara wondered where the dress came from as she walked over. That's when she noticed the black foxlike ears on the girl’s head and the spikes on Zelo’s arms that ran down his arms and fingers to the claws that his nails extended into.

Kaeki was the first to notice Kara and one of the black furred ears twitched as unsettling white eyes stared at her. “Kara?” the Twilae asked looking at Astra. The older woman nodded and the girl tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. “Hello… Kara.” The words sounded off on her lips, reminding the blonde a bit of Bizarro with how she spoke, but it seemed like a start of the English she was apparently learning from Astra. The tattoos on her arms seemed to shift across her skin as she returned her attention to Alex. “Go?”

“Hold on, Kaeki,” Alex said as she turned to Kara. “We are testing their abilities so we can archive the information. It's the only way J’onn agreed to house them until we find permanent housing for them. Want to watch? We can talk after this, it shouldn't take long.”

Kara looked at the children and her curiosity peaked. “Sure, I'll watch. But I need to get back to Anya before two.” That would give her enough time to watch the two kids, talk to Alex, and then do some hero work before heading home. “Also, tell Maggie thank you for me when you get the chance.”  
Alex looked at Kara a bit puzzled but took her arm and said, “Okay, Kaeki, take a few steps forward and we are going to be over here so we are out of your way. Show us all of what you can do, just don’t kill anyone.” Alex led Kara over to the wall and tapped on her tablet as she prepared to take notes. Alex waited until the other two were against the wall and turned her eyes to the girl. “Okay, go.”

Kaeki nodded and the first thing she did was flick her wrists, causing the tattoos on her arms to almost peel from her skin and become shackles and chains. She grabbed the black chains and twirled around, spinning the long chains around her. Her expression was almost serene and her every move felt as though it was a movement in a dance. She spun three times before lashing out with one of her chains as she spun, hitting one of the targets hanging from the ceiling that was meant most likely for knife throwing, and then she lashed out with the other to hit the same target. She slowed down her turns as she flicked her wrists again to cause the chains to revert back to their tattoo forms, stopping her turns in a low curtsy.

“Fighting was like dancing for Twilae,” Astra explained. “She would spar with her older sister at ceremonies and it would look like a dance. They are a graceful people.” The older woman smiled at the girl and the Twilae flashed a small smile back. It seemed having Astra around made things easier. “Do you have swords here?” Astra asked Alex. Alex handed her tablet to Kara and walked over to the wall with the weapons to pull out a sword. “This is perfect,” Astra commented as she walked over to Kaeki as Alex took back her tablet. Astra said something in the girl’s language and repeated it in English, “Here, show them something like what you do for the Ceremony of Life. Use one of the standing targets.” Astra returned to stand beside Alex and nodded.

Kaeki tested the weight of the blade and took the sheathe off of it, examining the blade as she dropped the sheathe. She ran her finger lightly over the edge and she shifted into her older form, her clothing seeming to shift with her. She began to move and as she did, she seemed to be using the blade as an extension of herself. Each slice, each thrust, each placement of her feet seemed so organic and flowed. At the end, Kaeki stabbed the target Astra told her to use and the soft sound of her voice speaking her native language reached Kara’s ears. Was she doing whatever she did for the ceremony Astra referenced exactly? And why was she speaking in such a sad yet reassuring tone? Kaeki pulled the sword out of the target and picked up the sheathe as she returned to her younger form. That seemed to be her preference though she did change to her nineteen year old appearance it seemed when she had to. She held the sword up for Alex and gave a smile. “More?”

Alex took the sword and asked, “Do you have more you can do?” The girl nodded and Alex crouched to look at the dress Kaeki was wearing. “This changes when you do, can I borrow this later to examine it?” Kaeki nodded and reached to the hem of her dress to tear off a section and hand it to Alex. “Oh, okay, this works too.” The girl smiled briefly held up her index finger. “You have one more thing to show us?” The girl nodded and Alex stood up. “Okay, show us and then it’s your turn, Zelo.”

Kaeki nodded and Astra chuckled, shaking her head at the curious stares she was receiving. Kaeki closed her eyes, the ears on the top of her head twitching, and five black tail-like appendages emerged through her dress to materialize into what looked like five black fox tails. Black haze came off the tails as they moved around her like tentacles. They stretched, swayed, and moved in an almost hypnotic way. “Fun?” It was as if she was asking permission and Alex looked at Astra before the older woman nodded, causing Kara’s sister to hesitantly nod as well. Then the white eyes began to glow. The tails froze before shooting out around Kaeki and piercing five different targets. The tails retracted and Kaeki looked around until she spotted a large weight. All but one of her tails returned back to her skin to be her tattoos and the remaining tail stretched out to the weight and lifted it with little difficulty. It dropped to the ground with a loud thud and the tail returned to Kaeki’s body as the girl fell to her knees to sit.

Alex rushed over to the Twilae and knelt down next to her. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly. Her brown eyes looked at the dull greyish white ones and she reached out a hand to smooth back the now earless hair. The girl nodded and breathed heavily, obviously exhausted by her demonstration. Perhaps the girl could do all that but only at a cost. “Okay, let’s go rest by the wall while Zelo shows us what he can do.” Alex lifted the girl and carried her over to the wall to set her down between herself and Astra while Zelo walked over to one of the targets. “Zelo, just do whatever you can on land. We will test the aquatic stuff later.”  
Kara noticed Zelo had fins on his elbows for the first time and she watched with interest as the short spikes on his spine and arms flexed as he stretched. “All I can do is claw things. I’m from an underwater city, I hardly went on land until I left the planet,” he told them. Alex just gave him a small smile and he sighed. The Malaaran backed up and crouched, placing his hands flat on the ground as his eyes locked onto the target he was going to use. Then he pounced, literally pounced, onto the target and tore the thing apart with his hands and teeth in about nine minutes leaving nothing left. After destroying the one target, he jumped off the first and moved to a second, tearing it apart. It was as if he was a cross between a feral cat and a piranha.

“Stop,” Alex shouted before Zelo could destroy the second target. Her face was drained of color and she looked at the remains of the equipment and she rested her head back against the wall. “J’onn is going to kill me.” She looked at Zelo and watched as he climbed off the equipment and stood awkwardly as his stomach growled. “We will stop here,” she said as she looked at her tablet. “Astra, take them to get some food at the cafeteria, Kara and I have to talk.” Alex waited until the other three left before looking at Kara and asking, “You want to talk?”

Kara nodded and a smile made its way onto her lips. “I broke up with Mon-El,” she told Alex and saying it out loud felt right, it felt like it was confirming that it was real which made her feel so good. “We broke up and I told him to stay away from me and Anya.”

Alex looked at her confused and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Are you okay? Why did you two break up?” Her voice was full of comfort and softness, the same tone she used for all of Kara’s break ups. Only this break up was different. It was a release, a return to who she was.

Kara remembered she hadn’t told Alex about the day before and her smile faded. “Mon-El hit me,” there was a pause as Kara took a breath, “in front of Anya. And then he tried to kiss me and stuff but I didn’t want that and he kit me again. Alex, it was horrible, it was like I was eighteen again and I couldn’t move or anything. After you and Maggie came over, Maggie’s words got me thinking and I knew, I knew since the beginning. What was going on wasn’t good. I lost myself, Alex, somewhere along the line I stopped being Kara and I became Mon-El’s girlfriend. It’s just, I thought everyone expected me and him together and it was easy. I liked him but like a friend. At least until he basically threatened Anya when I broke up with him.” Alex seethed, she had been growing steadily angrier and angrier but that last statement did it. “Wait, before you go off and kill him for hurting me and scaring Anya, I already blasted him with some heat vision and and threatened him with basically death if he ever goes near Anya. I don’t think he will ever be an issue and if he is I’ll take care of him.” Kara cracked her knuckles and thought about Anya. “I should go, I want to do some Supergirl work before I get home.” Kara hugged Alex and she gave her sister a smile when the brunette continued to frown angrily. “Don’t forget Game Night tonight. We will have to play some kid friendly games.”

“Sounds okay to me,” Alex said as she started to walk out with Kara. “We all know you are going to play for Anya anyway.” Alex paused and grabbed Kara’s arm causing the blonde to look at her. “Look, I’m sorry I sorta pushed you towards Mon-El. I thought you liked him and I wanted you to be happy. I’m really sorry.”  
Kara shook her head and wrapped her arms around Alex. “Don’t apologize you couldn’t have known.” Kara pulled back and smiled. “I gotta go, see you later.” The blonde waved before taking off, already in her Supergirl outfit. She scanned the city for anything, any issue that needed her aid. She ended up dealing with five robberies, two fires, three cats in a tree, and assisted in helping a family with a woman in labor get to the hospital. By the time she landed a block away from her apartment in an alley she was feeling better than she had in a while. Now dressed as Kara Danvers, Kara walked the rest of the way to her apartment and checked the mail, furrowing her brows at a letter that came from the same school Miss Grant’s son attended. As she walked up the stairs to her floor she opened it to find it was a letter from the first grade teacher with a list of school supplies.

“I see you got that letter,” Lena Luthor observed startling Kara. The CEO was standing outside of her apartment with that smirk on her face and an envelope in her hand. “This might clarify things a bit. I felt it would be better to hand deliver it.” Lena handed Kara the letter and backed up so she could head inside.

Kara took the envelope and unlocked her apartment, holding the door open for her friend. “Lena, please don’t tell me you paid for Anya’s schooling,” Kara said as she closed the door, Lena just smirking in response. Lucy looked up from the couch and paused the movie as Anya jumped to her feet to run over. “Hey there, sunshine,” Kara greeted as she crouched down. “Guess what? You and I never have to see Meanie ever again.” Anya perked up at that, understanding what she meant and wrapped her arms around Kara. Kara stood and placed Anya on the kitchen island so she could open the letter Lena handed her.

Lucy had walked over and leaned against the counter, running a hand through Anya’s hair once the girl was placed on the counter. “You finally broke up with that douche? I’ve been waiting forever, I hated him. I always thought he was overcompensating because he had a small-”  
Kara gasped, cutting off Lucy, and her hand went to her mouth as her eyes looked over the words on the paper she held. “No, no, no, Lena, I can’t accept this,” Kara said, tears filling her eyes as she read. The letter stated that LCorp was funding Anya’s schooling until she graduated high school through their foundation for education. It was something Kara knew only went to ten children in both National City and Metropolis because it had been featured once in a CatCo article. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena and hugged her as tightly as she could without hurting the woman. “Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Lena, I can never repay you enough for this.”

Kara was in tears and all Lena could do was hug her back, leaning her head against the blonde’s. Both of them could feel the pounding of the other’s heart and that fact caused both hearts to speed up slightly. Lena could feel a shift in Kara and the blonde pulled back. “You don’t owe me anything. I just want to help a friend who needs it. You are a mother who lives alone with her young daughter and you can only afford this small apartment and groceries. Anya is shy, she would never be able to handle a large public school. The classes at that school are small and the teachers make sure to focus on each student as well as the whole class.”

Kara smiled and wiped her face as Lucy took the letter from her and she took her daughter’s hand in hers, rubbing it softly with her thumb. “I’m a _single_ mother who can only afford rent and hardly enough groceries,” Kara corrected with a smile. “I kinda feel like I shouldn’t have given Mo- Mike back his money but it would feel wrong to keep it after breaking up. But I am glad that I can focus on me and Anya.” Kara didn’t miss the flicker of hope in Lena’s eyes but her attention was stolen by Anya wrapping her arms around her neck to tell her about what she and Lucy did.

“We played Supergirl and I was Supergirl and Aunt Lucy was the evil lady,” Anya told Kara as Lucy poorly stifled a laugh behind her as she said something about using the bathroom. “And then Aunt Lucy made me really bad cancakes. Like really bad.” There was a thud from the bathroom and Kara assumed that was not something Lucy wanted known.

Lena smiled as she set her bag down and walked up to Anya. “Would you like it if I made you these really good ‘cancakes’ I know how to make?” Anya nodded excitedly as she looked at Lena and held out an arm so the woman would hold her. Lena took her but put her on the ground causing Anya to pout. “Now, I was invited to Game Night tonight by your mommy. I’ll let you be on my team if you clean up the big mess you and Aunt Lucy made. Does that sound like a plan?” Anya giggled and ran off towards the mess that was the remnants of Anya and Lucy’s playing. Lena looked at Kara and she sat down at one of the stools. There was a smile on her face and Kara knew she could tell the blonde wanted to talk. “You broke up with Mike.”

Kara nodded. “I broke up with Mike,” she repeated. “Look, Lena, I know what happened the other day happened but I need time to focus on myself and Anya.” Her words were awkward and hesitant, unsure if she was saying the right thing. Lena kept smiling at her though and it warmed Kara to see. “Lena, you are amazing, Anya loves you, and you are one of my best friends. I just ask that you wait a bit if you can. I don’t want you to be like a rebound.”

“Kara, it’s fine,” Lena said taking Kara’s hands in her own. “You need time, you have a child, and you just got out of a relationship. For you I can wait because you are worth it.” Lena looked down and laughed softly before looking up. “I do have to admit, I didn’t think you liked girls.”

Kara blushed and sat down on the other stool, keeping her hands in Lena’s. “I don’t like to label myself when it comes to sexuality. I like everyone as long as they are nice and we get along. I have been told I have a great capacity for love.” A smile formed on Kara’s lips and her blush deepened when Lucy whistled at the two. Lena took her hands away from Kara’s and disappointment filled her chest. “Lucy, do you want to stay here or do you have somewhere to be?”

Lucy shrugged and replied, “I was about to ask if I can nap on your bed. Playing Supergirl is tiring with that one.” The short woman looked at Anya as the little girl went over to her and Lucy crouched to give her a hug, Anya probably having heard she was either leaving or napping.

“Go ahead,” Kara said. “I’ll wake you up to go shopping with me for food and snacks.” The woman nodded and closed the curtain as she went to lay down. Kara turned her attention to Lena and stood up. “Want to watch kid movies with Anya until she falls asleep on one of our laps?”

Lena nodded and stood. “Sounds like a perfect plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope this chapter was a good follow up to the last chapter. Karamel is officially over and the road to Supercorp begins. I want to do what the show didn't and let Kara focus on herself (and Anya) first before she starts another relationship. The pieces are starting to come together for not only this first plot line but another plot I also have planned. Don't forget to say who you want to have Kaeki and who to have Zelo or to say if you want Anya, Kaeki, and/or Zelo to appear in the new project I'm starting, Dare to Die. Don't forget to check out my other fic, At Least I Got You in My Head, and to please provide feedback, comments, and kudos. Any questions you have for me or for anything you want to know about my thought process on the past chapters or anything about the characters just ask me on tumblr (queenghostling) or in comments. I am happy to answer questions. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to have an update for next week once I get enough responses to the two questions to know what direction I'm going with Zelo and Kaeki.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long I'm juggling like six fics, one new one on this account and then two on another. I kinda struggled with this chapter so I'm sorry if it isn't that good. Towards the end the plot thickens and we are leading up to what I had in the sneak peek I gave in one of the past chapters. I'm actually looking forward to getting to that point because it will cover quite a few chapters if what I plan works out. This was not looked over at all, neither by me or anyone else, so all mistakes are mine. Anyway, please enjoy. You can find me at queenghostling on tumblr. Please leave feedback, comments, and kudos, they inspire and motivate me. Please enjoy.

“Lucy, get up!” Kara shouted as she began to set up for game night. “Everyone will be here in less than ten minutes.” She was met with a groan from the woman sleeping on her bed and Kara sighed. She opened the curtain dividing the areas and went over to her mirror to inspect herself. She was wearing her usual cardigan and dress style but she had a messy braid in her hair that was the product of Lena trying to teach Anya how to braid. In the mirror, she saw a running blur and heard the giggles before turning to see Anya jump on Lucy to get her up. A loud oof escaped the petite agent’s lips as she pulled the little girl down onto her chest. “I told you to get up,” Kara said as she walked out to set out the snacks.

Lucy walked out, holding Anya before setting her down to go run to the couch, and she did a double take as she saw Lena sitting on a stool looking at her phone with her hair a complete disaster for probably the first time in her life. “What happened to-” Lena cut her off with a glare while Kara snickered. Kara had told the Luthor that if she had to keep her hair how Anya had it, so did Lena. “I guess I won’t ask then.”

Kara handed Lucy a few bowls of snack and she got out the games she had already for tonight. They would be going with more kid friendly games like Monopoly and Sorry. There was also card games though they would only play Uno. Winn was bringing games for when Anya fell asleep and Alex was of course bringing the alcohol. Kara was nervous, it would be the first gathering at her apartment since Anya came to live with her and she had no idea how Anya would take the crowd. The little girl was still not completely warmed up to James or Winn but she was on good terms with the others. Kara wondered if it was because those two were men. Even back with the Kents, Anya had favored Martha. Anya was, however, extremely attached to Alex it seemed, asking every so often since she woke up from her nap about her Aunt Lexie and when she would get there. Speaking of Alex, the door of Kara’s apartment opened and Alex came in with Maggie.

“Hey, are we early?” Alex asked as she set the alcohol down on the kitchen island. Maggie snickered behind her and Alex joined her when she saw the disaster that was Lena’s hair. Lena’s scowl deepened and she stood to go join Anya on the couch. “Did Anya do that?” Alex asked as she watched Kara start putting together Anya’s dinner. “And why hasn’t she taken it out?”

Kara picked up the grilled cheese with the spatula to check the bottom and stifled a giggle as she thought about Lena’s hair. “I told her that if I can’t fix my hair, then neither can she. Anya put so much work into her hair it would be such a shame.” Kara flipped the sandwich and began to brown the other side. She could have used her powers but she liked cooking for Anya like this plus Lena was here and Kara still hadn’t told her she was Supergirl. It also made her feel more like the mother she wanted to be for Anya. She looked over her shoulder as Alex stumbled back into Maggie, Anya having jumped into her arms, and a smile curled at her lips. This was her family and she was glad Anya got to be part of it after being away for so long. She took the sandwich and slid it onto a plate, cutting it into four triangles. “Anya, time to eat and then we’ll take a quick bath before Game Night.”

Alex set Anya on the stool and walked over to her sister while Maggie went over to talk to Lena. “Aren’t you starting this a bit late? Winn and James will be here pretty soon, too.” As Kara pulled out a bag of chips to put some on Anya’s plate, Alex stole a few earning a gentle slap on her hand, gentle for Kara that is. “Ow,” Alex complained as she shook her aching hand. She turned to Anya as the little girl started her second triangle and ran her fingers through her hair. “Hey, bunny, want to be on my team tonight?”

Anya shook her head and stuffed a chip in her mouth. “I’m going to be on Miss Leelee’s team,” Anya told her aunt as she finished off her food almost in seconds, ignoring Alex’s mock hurt expression that, and looked at her mother. “Can I dress like you for bed tonight, Mommy?”

Kara looked at Lena, wondering if she heard, and nodded. “Let’s take a bath first and then you can come and play with everyone before bed.” Kara picked up Anya and kissed the girl’s forehead. “Hey, Alex, can you clean up everything pretty please?” Kara smiled as Alex sighed and began to clean up as Kara left to the bathroom. Her shower doubled as a tub and she set Anya on the closed lid of the toilet before going to collect fresh clothes for her daughter

By the time she had Anya bathed, in her Supergirl onesie, and teeth brushed, Winn and James were here along with Astra who surprisingly had Kaeki with her. Anya buried her face in her mother’s shoulder as she saw people she hadn’t opened up to and Kara smiled. Kaeki was behaving similarly, the quiet Twilae clinging to Astra’s arm as she watched everyone with observant eyes. Kara was surprised to see that her tattoos were nowhere to be even though her tails and chains were not in a physical form. It must be something she could do to blend in. Kara sat down next to Lena and the raven haired woman leaned against her slightly as she coaxed Anya to move over to her.

“Let’s beat everyone, okay?” Lena asked as she spoke softly near Anya’s ear. The little girl shyly nodded and eyed Kaeki as she clung to Lena. The Luthor rested her cheek on Anya’s head as Winn pulled out Monopoly for the first game since it was the longest. “So, you are Kara’s aunt, right?” Lena asked Astra. “We met but I don’t think we were properly introduced. I’m Lena Luthor.” Lena held out her hand for Astra to shake, a smile on her face.

Astra smiled back and shook Lena’s hand. “Astra,” she told Lena as she retracted her hand. Kaeki stretched to whisper in Astra’s ear and the general whispered something back, pointing to the bathroom. “Kara, I hope it’s okay if she uses your bathroom.”

Kara shook her head and smiled. “Of course she can.” Kara watched the silent girl hesitantly walk to the bathroom before focusing on the game which had already started. The blonde smiled as Lena let Anya roll the dice and move the dog token Anya picked out while she did the rest. It was adorable and Kara forgot to actually play she got so caught up in watching them. She found herself looking at Lena more during that first game, as well. Even with the disastrous hairdo, Lena looked gorgeous and yet Kara knew she needed time. It was hard, though, watching Lena do so well with Anya and look so beautiful. She managed to focus enough on the game to get Astra out of the game which seemed fine with her as she just whispered back and forth with Kaeki. “Where is Zelo?” Kara asked realizing that the boy wasn’t there. “Also why do you have Kaeki, Aunt Astra?”

Alex sighed as she moved her token to the jail square and sat back against Maggie. “Astra is taking in Kaeki so that’s why she is here. We still don’t know what to do with Zelo. Plus, I didn’t think it would be okay to bring him.” Her eyes flickered to Lena and Kara frowned.

Maggie noticed the slight tension between the sisters and quickly added, “Because he’s a broody teen who might dampen all this fun.” She nudged Alex who nodded and the detective took her turn, ending up with Alex in jail. “Well this is a rather ironic situation.” She looked at Alex and grinned with a wink which caused Alex to blush and look at her lap.

The game continued until James let Lena and Anya take him out of the running for winner. Alex let Maggie take her out and then Kara took everything Maggie had. Winn was determined to win to finally win at Monopoly, he being the only member of the group to never win. Kara let Winn beat her so she could focus on her daughter and Lena, smiling as he took the last of her fake money. “Did you let me win?” he asked as he looked at her smile. “Cause if you did I’m going to be so fu-” Winn faltered as Kara gave him a deadly glare. “I’m going to be so full of hurt?” He shrugged and shied away from Kara’s pursed lips and stare. A sigh passed the man’s lips as Kara smiled and shifted her attention to her daughter. He too looked at the little girl and CEO, game face on, as he motioned for them to take the next move. It was down to the wire and Kara was desperately hoping Anya would win. “Your turn, ladies.”

Lena held Anya’s hands, her lips pressed against the crown of Anya’s head as she thought. It was such a natural thing and Kara doubted Lena knew what she was doing. The CEO leaned down to Anya’s ear and whispered to her their strategy for this round. The small six year old nodded and grabbed the dice, shaking them in her hand before letting them drop on the table. They just avoided one of Winn’s properties and Lena smiled at Anya proudly. “Your move, Mr. Schott,” Lena said with a smirk on her face and she held Anya’s hands to direct her in a little dance. Kara barely stifled her laugh and the showdown continued heatedly, drawing everyone in.

In the end, Winn suffered a defeat and Anya was fighting sleep as she laid across Kara and Lena’s laps. Kara pulled Anya onto her lap and watched as Astra stood, holding a sleeping Kaeki. “Are you going, Aunt Astra?” Kara asked softly so she wouldn’t wake the sleeping child. Astra nodded, putting a finger to her lips, and silently left. Kara ran her fingers through Anya’s messy hair and pressed her lips against Anya’s soft cheek. “Time for bed, sunshine,” Kara said as she stood holding her daughter. She walked over to her bedroom area, closing the curtain behind her, and sat on her bed as she set Anya down. She grabbed Anya’s bunny plush and placed it next to the half-Kryptonian as she leaned down to place a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “I love you, Anya. I will be in bed soon. Sleep peacefully, my little sunshine.” She sat up and smoothed back Anya’s hair until the girl fell asleep. She stood up and walked back to her friends who were pulling out another game. She smiled and happily played. She was shocked when Winn won every single other game and laughed when he complained about how he could never win at Monopoly. By the time everyone left, Kara was exhausted. She was glad tomorrow she didn’t have anything but Supergirl work because she just wanted to sleep. She super sped herself into a t-shirt and shorts and slipped under the covers to pull Anya to her chest and drift to sleep.

 

*~*~*

 

“Mommy, too tight,” Anya complained as Kara held her while she leaned against Astra’s car. Her aunt and Kaeki were already inside to meet up with Alex to go to the pool inside of the DEO to see what Zelo could do underwater. Kara, however, was meeting with J’onn to help teach Anya how to fully control her powers. Like a pre-going to school school. She was nervous, thinking about what could happen if Anya couldn’t control her powers, and in her anxiety, she must have gripped Anya too tightly. “Put me down, Mommy.”

Kara blinked as she pulled herself from her worries and took a deep breath as she set her tiny daughter down. A smile found its way to her lips as she watched Anya stomp her feet to light up the Supergirl light-up sneakers Kara got her that morning. “Do you like your new shoes?” Kara asked as Anya watched the lights flash with each stomp. It was the first time Kara had gotten Anya something so flashy and her daughter seemed fascinated with it right away. Anya nodded and pulled on the straps of her denim overalls before holding out her hand for Kara. The anxiety inside Kara faded as she took her daughter’s hand and led her inside, knowing that things are going well considering she had no idea how to be a parent. Her maternal instincts must have been taking over after all those years.

“Kara, there you are,” J’onn said as he walked over to the mother and daughter. He smiled at the little girl who stepped behind her mother to hide. “Are you and Anya ready?” The smile on his face continued to remain despite Anya not looking at him as she held Kara’s hand and gripped her mother’s pants with her other hand.

Kara ran her thumb over the back of Anya’s hand reassuringly and nodded. “Yeah, we are ready,” Kara told him. J’onn started to walk to the training room they would be using to teach Anya to fully control her powers and Kara followed with Anya. Anya released her grip on Kara’s pants as they entered the room and her big, blue eyes looked at the high ceiling and then to the cement blocks. There were blocks of wood on a steel table near the center of the room and Kara wondered if it looked a bit too daunting. She turned and knelt down to look at Anya, brushing back the blonde hair to tuck it behind her daughter’s ears. “You need to do exactly what me and J’onn say, okay? And if you can’t do something tell us. I need to make sure you will be safe if you go to school. There are people who don’t like people like us, they don’t like people who are different. Do you understand?” Anya nodded and Kara hugged her close, the thought of losing Anya filling her mind. Rao, she couldn’t bear it if something happened to Anya.

“I understand, Mommy,” Anya answered as Kara released her to stand up. She rubbed at her nose and looked at J’onn, studying him as she pulled at the straps of her overalls. She weakly returned his smile before stepping back behind Kara.

Kara reach behind her back to put a hand on Anya’s head. “Okay, so what should we focus on first?” Kara asked. Her eyes looked around and she pointed with her free hand at the blocks of wood. “We could test her strength and see if she has control over that. Or we could do flying. Or maybe heat vision or freeze breath. I don’t think she has super hearing or vision yet.” Kara rambled until she heard Anya murmur something and she stopped talking. “What did you say, sunshine?” Kara asked turning to kneel in front of her daughter.

Anya looked at J’onn before shifting her gaze to Kara. “I wanna start with strength,” Anya said as she pulled at the straps of her overalls. Kara looked at the straps and realized for the first time there were rips in the fabric. She began to wonder if she would find similar rips in her daughter’s clothing if she looked. Anya must have been trying to practice herself by testing her strength on her own clothing.

Kara sighed realizing she should have noticed earlier. She nodded and took her daughter’s hands in her own, guiding them away from the fabric. “Okay, sunshine, we’ll start with strength,” she murmured with a smile but deep inside she was all nerves. Anya was smart, smart enough to know she would need to control her powers, but why didn’t she say anything? Could she have already developed powers other than just her strength and flight? Kara smoothed down Anya’s messy hair and looked at her daughter with worry. “Before that, do you have any other powers other than flight and super strength? I need to know so I can help you with them.” Just as Kara feared, Anya nodded timidly and Kara pulled Anya in for a comforting hug, rubbing her back. “Tell me what your other powers are and we’ll go from there.”

Anya nodded and gripped Kara’s shirt as her mother hugged her. “Are you mad?” Anya asked worriedly. Kara shook her head before kissing the side of Anya’s head and the tension that was in the little girl’s body melted away. “I can see through people and it’s scary,” Anya told Kara, causing Kara’s heart to break. Anya’s vision might have been what led to her extreme shyness and the fact she didn’t do anything sooner filled her with guilt. “I can smell things too. My eyes get tingly at times but I don’t have heat vision. That’s it other than flying and strength.”

Kara pulled back and kissed her daughter on the forehead. “While I wish you had told me sooner, I’m glad you told me now before school starts. I’ll see what I can do to get you some glasses like mine and I’ll teach you how to control your heat vision while it’s still just tingly.” Kara rubbed her thumb over her daughter’s smooth cheek and frowned at how sad Anya seemed to look. A grin replaced the frown as she came up with an idea to bring a smile to that adorable face. “So is it just tingly or does it tickle too?” Anya looked at her mother in confusion as Kara started to laugh a bit before she began to prepare to tickle her daughter. “Does it tickle too? Like this.” She began to tickle her daughter and the little girl erupted into a fit of giggles and squeals. She fell over onto Kara squirming in attempts to get away from the tickle attack. J’onn cleared his throat and Kara stopped her tickling, looking up at the Martian as she smiled sheepishly. “Okay, let’s work on strength today and then we can focus on just one thing each day,” she told Anya shifting into a more serious mindset. She stood and let J’onn take over on the training, watching worriedly over her small daughter.

J’onn smiled as he picked up a block of wood before coming to kneel down in front of the fidgeting six year old. “Hey there, little one, can you show me how strong you are? Can you break this?” He let her slowly take the block from him and she looked at Kara, watching her mother nod, before crushing the block in her hands, letting the remains fall to the floor as she backed away. J’onn stood and rubbed his chin. He walked over to the cement blocks that Kara used for when she needs to just punch something and patted the large blocks that were larger than the half-Kryptonian was. “Try this.”

Kara stepped forward to protest, afraid her daughter would hurt herself trying to test her strength on the cement. “J’onn, that might be-” Kara was cut off when cracks spread across the surface of the cement blocks, a tiny dent in the surface from where Anya pressed against the block. As Anya pressed her weight against the block, the dent became a shallow hole and Anya removed her hand, shaking off the dust that covered her hand. “That’s my girl!” Kara exclaimed as she suddenly picked up her daughter and lifted her up with a sunny smile on her face. “You are so strong and I’m so proud,” Kara told her daughter before placing a kiss on Anya’s forehead. “And you have so much control already with all that strength. We are going to help you fully control your powers but you already have so much control. I’m proud of you.” Kara looked at her daughter and just paused to take in this little girl that was her light, her entire world and what she had been secretly striving to protect as Supergirl. To make the world better for her daughter. “I do wish you had told me about _all_ your powers, though. Why didn’t you, Anya?”

Anya placed a small kiss on Kara’s cheek and smiled at her mother. “I wanted to make you proud that I could control it,” Anya confessed. “Are you really proud of me?” It seemed as if it was extremely important to Anya that Kara was proud of her and the Kryptonian wondered if it was because of all the time she had not been in Anya’s life, only visiting for weekends and holidays.

Kara smiled and nodded. “I’m extremely proud of you,” she told Anya. “I’ve always been proud of you and I always will be. You are what I’m most proud of in my life.”

J’onn shifted and Kara glanced over at him, noticing how he seemed to be looking away from what was a pretty intimate mother daughter moment. When he noticed Kara was looking at him, he stood up straighter and motioned towards the door as it opened to reveal Winn holding something behind his back. “I asked Agent Schott here to help teach Anya with her strength when it comes to interacting with humans.” Winn’s eyes widened and it was clear that was not what he was told. J’onn chuckled and added, “If he is okay with lending a hand.”

A sigh left Winn’s lips as he nodded and pulled out a container from behind him to hold out for Anya. “I’ll help. I bring cookies as well.” He opened the container and Anya’s eyes lit up as she was set down, hopping in place once her feet were on the ground. “Oh, nice shoes, kid. Did your mom get you those?”  
Anya bunny hopped over and looked at him before taking a few cookies. “She got me them this morning,” she mumbled before putting the cookies into her mouth. Anya stomped a little for the shoes to light up and grinned up at the man around her cookie. “I’m gonna be just like Mommy when I grow up.”

Kara put a hand to her chest as she felt herself tear up in a good way. J’onn put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Okay, Anya, I need you to hold Mr. Schott’s hand and if he says you are holding him too tight, do it again gently. Do you understand?”

Anya nodded and finished off her cookies as Kara took the container from her friend. Kara watched nervously as her daughter grabbed Winn almost afraid she would break him. A frown found its way onto her lips as she remembered how Anya would play with Lucy and Lena and never hurt them. “We need to do this differently,” she said. “Which is the least used floor on the DEO?” There was a spark in her eyes that made J’onn blink but he told her and the woman picked up her daughter and handed the cookies back to Winn. “Let’s play hide-and-seek. Call Alex and tell her where to meet us with Astra and the other two kids.”

Winn nodded and dialed Alex while they walked. Kara put Anya down when they reached the stairs and watched her daughter run up before waiting for Kara and Winn to catch up. This was the best way to help Anya, having fun. She wouldn’t be worried about her hurting anyone and it would get muscle memory down. If they played where you had to grab the person by the arm, then it would help Anya immensely and prepare her for playing with other children. By the time they walked up the stairs and to the floor they were heading to, Alex and the others were already there and Zelo was dripping wet.

Kara walked over to her sister and noticed how Anya clung to her leg, recognizing it as slight fear rather than shyness since she knew Anya had x-ray vision. “Alex, can you make a pair of glasses like mine for Anya? She already has vision like mine.” Kara put her hand on her daughter’s head comfortingly and she noticed Alex’s eyes widen as she realized what that meant. “Apparently, she’s had it for a while,” Kara added in a soft whisper. Alex nodded and smiled as Anya detached from Kara’s leg to show off her new shoes to her aunt.

“Oh, so cool,” Alex said as Anya made the shoes light up. “So, do you know why we are all here, bunny?” Alex crouched down and looked at her niece as she brushed back a few strands of hair.

“Hide-and-seek,” Anya answered as she made a face at Alex wiping away crumbs from her face. “You be it, Aunt Lexie.” Anya hopped away and almost dashed down a hall before Kara grabbed her. The six year old pouted and looked up at her mother.

“First, rules,” Kara said. She looked at Astra as the woman seemed to be supporting most of Kaeki’s weight, the young girl probably having worn herself out in tests. “Um, does Kaeki wanna sit this out?” The young girl shook her head and stood up on her own. The Twilae looked at Anya briefly before Kara, shaking her head once more. “Okay, back to the rules, this is hide-and-seek so count to ten before searching. To make this fair, no powers and you have to grab the person you are tagging by the arm. I’ll be listening for when someone has been tagged to go get everyone. We meet here and go again for about an hour or so. Anya, don’t forget this is to help you control your powers, try not to use your strength or fly, okay? And no going into any rooms.” Kara looked at all of them and grinned as she guided Anya to one of the hallways. “Alex is it,” she declared before running off behind her daughter.

It was fun, a lot of fun. Because of how big the floor was it was hard for all of the aliens in the group to not use their powers to speed things up. Anya ended up being it most of the time which was exactly what Kara wanted. The blonde woman had circled back to tell the other adults her plans for the game and they all agreed to let Anya catch them when she was it to help her learn better control. It was a giant success as well, only hurting Winn a few times when she grabbed him though curiously she never ended up hurting Alex or Astra. Zelo seemed to be having fun despite denying it when Alex asked and Alex told Kara how she was going to be taking the boy in even though she had yet to bring it up with Maggie. At the end of it, Anya had used up all of her energy and was grumbling about food as Kara buckled her into Astra’s car, the tiny child struggling to keep her eyes open.

“She is a lot like you, Kara,” Astra told her niece as the blonde woman climbed into the car. Kaeki was already asleep in the back seat so Astra’s voice was soft not to wake the girl she had taken in. “Strong, full of life, and she just wants to make you happy.”

Kara looked at her lap as she adjusted her glasses and smiled. “I think it’s because she wants to be like me. She kept important things, things that scared her, from me in order to make me proud. I’m worried that she’ll do that again. I’m worried she’ll be too much like me. That she will have my flaws and my weaknesses.” Kara looked out the window as Astra drove, letting the only thing in her ears be the sound of Anya’s heart. “I love her so much, she’s my everything. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done partly to keep her safe in this world. Despite the circumstances that led to me having her, she’s probably the best thing to happen to me since finding a home with the Danvers. Seeing her makes all the troubles seem to go away.” Kara looked at her aunt who was simply nodding before looking back out the window. “One day, you should tell me about you and Kaeki.” Kara looked at her aunt and furrowed her brows in confusion as Astra hit the brakes suddenly, waking both girls in the back. “Aunt Ast-”

“Oh, look we are here,” Astra cut in hurriedly, avoiding Kara’s eyes. “The past is the past, little one, let’s leave it like that.” Kara looked at the girl in the back whose silver eyes were avoiding Kara’s as well with a sadness to them. “Kaeki is different now, it seems anyway,” Astra added as she turned off the car and got out. “She doesn’t stay at her true age anymore and it’s been years.”

“True age?” Kara asked as the back door opened.

Kaeki unbuckled and changed to her older form. “True age when aging ends,” Kaeki explained. “Twenty.” She changed back to her younger form and hopped out of the car.

Kara grew confused over what had gotten into the pair and any guess she had went out the window when Astra opened her car door with a solemn look on her face. “The past should remain in the past especially when things you rather forget dwell there. Especially when death is involved.” Astra walked over to the Twilae and they walked inside together leaving Kara to wonder what could have happened that was so bad that Astra didn’t want to talk about it. Kara got out of the car and let Anya out of her seat, locking up the car before she went inside with her daughter. She was too busy balancing her sleepy and hungry daughter on her hip while she ordered Chinese to notice that she was being watching. She was too preoccupied to notice that one of the two people watching had grey eyes that would paralyze her if she saw while the other had the face of her Martian boss.

“ _Target has returned._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've actually put a lot of thought into Kaeki and Astra's past considering before I started writing this it was just something I would come up with in my head actually about Kaeki. I prefer it actually being about Kara and Anya but I do want to incorporate the past shared by Astra and Kaeki. Also, Kaeki appearing the age she does all the time is not something she did before when Astra knew her. Kaeki is like my slightly older, alien version of Cassandra Cain(Blackbat/Batgirl), hence her fighting looking like dancing and stuff. If it wasn't clear, 'true age' is a Twilae concept since they live long periods of time but they stop aging at a point in their life and they can also do what I am calling age shift. For Kaeki, it was when she was twenty that she stopped aging though on Earth she prefers to appear as a child. I just wanted to provide background cause this is an original character that I will use the most behind Anya and is the most complex of the three children. I will go into what the thing Astra doesn't want to talk about but I wanted this chapter to be fluffy and cute and not dark cause Kaeki's past is pretty dark. I won't spoil things though. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed and I'll try to get another update at some point. Please leave feedback, comments, any questions, and kudos. Also be on the lookout for my new fic that isn't supercorp but it is another Lena-centric fic of mine and it will be called Love is Sweet, Love is Dark (not at all another fic with the title based on song lyrics nope definitely not lyrics from this awesome song called Pirouette). It might not be your cup of tea since the main pairing is like nonexistent but it's got sanvers and might have supercat if i decide I want that. Also check out my other two fics on this account, At Least I Got You In My Head and Dare to Die. I love you, all my dear readers. Also since Zelo is with Alex I have a surprise in the form of a one shot involving how Alex breaks the news to Maggie that they have a broody aquatic cat boy as their new teenage son.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi sorry it took so long I'm adding two more fics to my already six fics on this site. The two fics will be on my other account so don't look for them here. But this chapter I'm not so sure on, it was a rush job and a filler chapter that has an important event in it but still mostly filler. I'm sorry if it isn't the best I promise the next chapter will be better. Also, updates are going to take longer because I have so many fics now. I'll probably be taking a little week long break to start planning and getting ahead. When I get a job it will be harder to update too, just a warning. Anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best but I hope you enjoy. Also, if you have anything you want to see, tell me in the comments or message me at queenghostling on tumblr. Anyway here is the next chapter.

Kara watched her daughter brush her teeth as she leaned against the wall of the bathroom with her phone to her ear. She looked at her reflection and tucked a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. “Lena?” she asked when she head the the called answered by the Luthor’s end. She looked down as the younger woman on the line asked why the blonde was calling, pointing to the bed so Anya who had just tugged on her pants would realize she needed to get changed. “Ah, sorry to call randomly, but I’m going to get school supplies with Anya and we were going to get some food while we were out. Do you want to come join us?”  
There was a chuckle on the other end and Kara knew she was smirking. “Ms. Danvers, are you asking me on a date?” Lena asked in a flirty tone.

Kara walked over to her bed to sit as she watched her six year old put on her overalls over her new grey overalls with a pink shirt underneath. “I’m asking you to go shopping for school supplies with my six year old daughter and then to go to a greasy fast food restaurant after that might have a play area for Anya.” The little girl looked up at her name and Kara held out her hand to pull her daughter onto her lap. “If you think that’s a date then I have some questions.” Even though they agreed to wait before starting a relationship, Kara and Lena had been flirting almost constantly and Maggie apparently wanted to push their heads together so they would kiss. Kara needed to focus on being a mother first, however. She really liked Lena but after everything with Mon-El, who had just vanished suddenly without a word, Kara was hesitant despite how good Lena was with Anya. She still saw Marcus at work despite working with her cousin and the memories he brought up made Kara even more unsure of getting into a relationship. There was guilt for making Lena wait but if Lena really wanted to be with her and cared, she would wait until Kara was ready which hopefully wouldn’t be too long.

“Hmm, maybe not a date date, but it’s probably the closest I’ll get for now which is fine by me.” There was a muffled voice on the other end and Kara could hear Lena’s heels against tile as she was probably leaving her office. “I’ll be happy to join you and Anya. Where should I meet you?”

Kara looked at her apartment and frowned at the mess it was. There was a box of school uniforms and toys everywhere. But she did have super speed. “Come over to my place and then we can walk or take my aunt’s car.” Lena replied saying she would be over shortly and Kara lifted Anya off her to quickly clean. “Anya, where are your glasses?” Kara asked noticing the glasses Alex had given Anya a few days ago where nowhere to be found. “Sweetheart, where did you leave them?”

Anya looked around and confusion flashed across her face. “I thought I left them on the nightstand,” she said as she walked over and looked at the table. Kara walked over and began to help, watching as Anya bent down to look under the bed. “Found them.” She stood up and put the glasses that looked exactly like her mother’s on. “Are we seeing Miss Leelee?” Anya climbed onto the bed and flopped back on the bed.

Kara hummed as she joined her daughter on the bed. She brushed back strands of blonde hair and smiled down at Anya. “Yep, and we are going to go shopping with her for your school stuff before we have something to eat. Maybe if you ask nicely she will come watch a movie.” She lied down, turning onto her side to stroke Anya’s hair. The little girl turned her head and looked at her mother, a thoughtful look on her face. “What is it, sweetie?”

Anya furrowed her brows and looked into her mother’s eyes. “Mommy, what is a date? Aunt Maggie says that you and Miss Leelee need to go on one and you just mentioned a date while on the phone.” She giggled when Kara groaned and fell back onto the bed. “What is it? Now I’m curious.” She climbed onto Kara and sat on her mother’s stomach as she looked down, putting her hands just below Kara’s chest. “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me,” she chanted, giggling, as she bounced and pressed against Kara each time.

“Oof, okay okay,” Kara surrendered as she sat up, wrapping her arms around her daughter. “A, uh, a date is, um, it’s what two people go on when they, uh, when they like each other very much.” She mentally groaned at how badly she was doing this. She made a note to smack Maggie next time she saw her. She smiled slightly as she realized something. “You know what? Aunt Maggie and Aunt Lexie are dating, they can tell you all about it next time we go see them, okay?” She would have to make sure Maggie wouldn’t corrupt her child but at least perhaps she could talk about this easier than it would have been on her own. She frowned at Anya’s confused expression, the fact her adorable head was trying to wrap around the new information very clear, and she grinned as she began to pepper Anya’s face with kisses. “It’s something you will get when you are older, you’re too young for dating.”

Anya giggled and wormed her way out of Kara’s grip. “So, if a date is something that two people go one when they like each other very much, does that mean I could go on a date with Kaeki?” Kara opened and closed her mouth repeatedly unsure of how to respond. Over the past week, Anya and Kaeki have grown to be close friends due to living across from each other and the fact that they are close in age. Well, one of them appeared to be close in age to the other. Anya didn’t wait for an answer, taking her mother’s reaction to mean that Kara was just as confused as she was, and she skipped off to the kitchen to get one of her juice boxes, leaving Kara to put her head in her hands as she groaned at her lacking in parenting skills. “Mommy, where are my shoes?”

Taking that as her cue to get up, Kara stood and looked around for her daughter’s shoes. “Which ones?” she asked realizing she had no idea which pair Anya wanted to wear. She looked around her apartment and smiled at how much it had changed into what it was now. Toys were scattered around the floor and pictures Anya drew were stuck on the fridge and any other surface Kara stuck them on. She walked up to the fridge and her fingers traced over one of Anya’s drawings, a soft smile on her lips. Anya mumbled out a response as she looked under the couch, lifting it slightly with her super strength. They searched together for a while until there was a knock at the door and she looked at Anya still looking for her shoes while sipping at her juice before going to answer the door. She opened it and blinked seeing Lena on the other side who was brushing back nonexistent stray strands of hair. “Lena, I didn’t expect you here so soon.”

Lena turned to Kara and smiled that smile that made Kara melt a little inside. “Hi, I was sort of leaving halfway through the call, to be honest, and there is no traffic at this time of day. And I can’t resist a chance to see this adorable little girl.” She opened her arms as she crouched down when Anya came over to hug Lena. She ran her fingers through Anya’s hair and held her tight before letting her go. Standing, she walked inside as Kara closed the door behind her and she set her things on the counter as she sat on a stool. “She’s just like you, you know? She even has glasses now. It’s adorable.”

Kara chuckled and sat on the stool next to Lena. “Well, her curiosity might not come from me. She asked me what a date was. I blame Maggie.” Kara sighed as she looked at Anya searching for her shoes. One day she would have to deal with Anya dating. One day she and Anya would argue over curfew and whether Anya could get the new cell phone that’s out or not. She wasn’t ready for her little girl to grow up, she rather keep her just like this forever. It probably didn’t help that she had already missed most of Anya’s life already. She regretted that immensely but there was little she could do. She could still remember Anya as a baby, she was so tiny and precious.

Lena snickered, pulling Kara from her thoughts, and shook her head. “She asked about dating? Darling, we have just as much to do with her asking about it as Maggie, maybe more. You can’t deny that we have been acting flirtatiously with one another, Kara. She probably noticed something is going on. She’s a child, she’s going to be curious.” She looked at Anya and smiled when the little girl held up her shoes in triumph. “She’s so adorable. Kara, adorableness runs in your DNA.”

Kara blushed and adjusted her glasses. “We do flirt a lot but that is mostly on you, you know,” Kara pointed out as she watched Anya put on her shoes. “And I don’t think adorableness can passed down through genetics.” Kara looked at Lena and found herself smiling like a dork while looking into those green eyes. What would it be like to look into those eyes first thing in the morning? To look into those eyes while making breakfast, playing with Anya, talking about who would drive Anya. Oh, Rao, she was in deep. Kara blinked as she looked at her daughter as she watched whatever show was on. She stood, motioning for Lena to get her things, and went over to Anya. “Okay, sweetie, time to go.” She took the remote from where it was on the couch and turned off the TV before picking up Anya, lifting her over her head before setting her down. “Go to Miss Leelee.”

Anya ran over to Lena and took the woman’s hand, surprising the brunette. Kara smiled as she joined them in the hall, locking the door of her apartment. Anya pulled Lena long with her and Kara followed laughing as Lena almost tripped. The laughter earned her a smirk as they headed down the stairs and towards Astra’s car, her aunt giving her the keys earlier. “Are you going to drive?” Lena asked as she waddled sightly in place while Anya stood on her feet. “I can drive if you want.”

“No, sit with me!” Anya exclaimed as she bounced lightly on Lena’s feet. “Mommy, I want Miss Leelee to sit with me.” She looked at Kara with that puppy dog pout of hers and Kara felt herself want to immediately hand her the world. The same thing seemed to be happening to Lena as the woman stopped moving and crouched down to brush back Anya’s blonde hair as she looked at Kara with those eyes. “Please, Mommy?”

Kara smiled and leaned against the car, shaking her head slightly. “I was planning to drive anyway, sweetie. Miss Leelee can it with you if you ask nicely and she wants to.” Kara smiled more as Lena nodded at Anya’s puppy dog look and picked the girl up. She walked over to the driver’s seat and got in as Lena put Anya in her seat. Looking back, Kara waited until both Anya and Lena were settled before before smiling and backing out. “So, we are heading to Staples and then possibly Target. Anya, do not pull out the puppy dog face at Target no matter how much you want whatever toy you find. If anything, I’ll get you new clothes but we need to focus on the school stuff. Okay, sweetheart?”

Anya grumbled something before making a grabbing motion in Lena’s direction. The woman held out her hand and began to examine Lena’s hand and arm. “Why is your hand bigger than mine?” Anya asked as she put her palm against Lena’s. She looked at Lena who was smiling at her and then back at the woman’s hand.

Lena let Anya play with her hand as she glanced at Kara as the blonde drove. “I’m a grown up so that means I’m bigger than you cause I’m all grown up.” She shifted her attention back to Anya as the little girl began to curl Lena’s fingers and trace the lines on Lena’s palm. “One day your hand will be bigger too. Are you having fun there?” The way those two interacted made Kara’s heart happy. She looked in the mirror to look at them when she heard Lena’s heartbeat speed up and noticed Anya tracing something on Lena’s arm. Lena pulled her arm back and wrapped both around her waist slowly so that Anya didn’t get upset or worry. “I think that’s enough playing with my arms,” she murmured as she gave Anya a strained smile.

Anya pouted slightly but remained silent as she looked at Lena. Kara worried she would say something about whatever it is that made Lena pull back her arm but all she did was smile softly and look out her window. Kara sighed inwardly as she pulled into a parking spark and she turned off the car as she unbuckled. She looked back at Lena and then Anya with concern in her eyes. “Okay, let’s go shopping,” she said as she got out and went to get Anya. “You have the list?” Anya pulled the list from the pocket of her overalls. Kara ran her fingers through Anya’s hair as she looked at Lena and smiled comfortingly. “You ready?”

Lena nodded and smiled. “Yes, I’m ready.” Lena walked next to Kara as they went into the building, Anya grabbing a cart after asking to do so. They began to walk up and down the aisle looking for what Anya needed. When they got to the pens and pencils everything got less easy as Anya began to take forever to decide which she wanted. Lena looked at them with her just as intensely as Anya was which caused Kara to laugh. Lena looked at her over her shoulder and smirked. “What?”

Kara looked at Anya and motioned for Lena to come closer to her. She looked at the brunette and the smile on her face faded as she looked into those green eyes. “Lena, what happened back in the car?” Kara asked in a whisper. She gave her a comforting look as she took the Luthor’s hand and gave a little squeeze. “You can tell me, you know.”

The hesitation was clear as Lena looked down and took a deep breath. Those green eyes looking into blue as the CEO looked around before pulling back her sleep slightly. White lines littered her pale skin and Kara wondered how she hadn’t noticed before. “She noticed the scars and I didn’t want to tell her yet. I rather wait to tell her until we date if we are going to.” She flinched as Kara ran her thumb across the scars and once again as Anya knocked over some packs of pens as she grabbed the ones she wanted. Lena pushed back down her sleeves and looked at Kara with a faint smile. “Another time,” she said before walking over to Anya. “You find what you want?”

Anya nodded and went over to Kara and the cart to put them in with the folders that matched the colors specified on the list. “Do I have to get certain colors for my notebooks, Mommy?” she asked as she grabbed onto Kara’s pant leg since the blonde woman was steering the cart.

“You have the list; can you tell me?” Kara asked. She knew Anya could read the list, she had been reading with her across scattered nights during the six years she had been living with the Kents, but Kara also knew that Anya liked to be coddled. She frowned when Anya looked at the list before holding it up to her, Kara shaking her head until Anya gave her a no. She smiled and ruffled Anya’s hair as they went to the notebook aisle. She looked at Lena who was looking at her phone and realized maybe it was selfish of her to ask her to come. After all, Lena had a company to run, she didn’t have the time to play house with her. “Hey, if you have to go you can go,” she told Lena as she rolled the cart following Anya. “I’m sorry if I took you out of something important by inviting you out. I just know that Anya loves seeing you and I enjoy seeing you a lot so I just-”

“Kara, darling,” Lena interrupted, stopping Kara in the middle of her rambling, “it’s fine. The rest of my day was just going to be time spent in my lab. I want to be here, I love spending time with you and Anya.” She smiled as Anya showed them a Supergirl notebook while Kara’s cheeks began to grow pink. Her daughter’s obsession with Supergirl things would be the end of her. “I think she really likes Supergirl,” Lena said pulling Kara out of her embarrassment. “She is always playing Supergirl with Lucy and this is the first time I’ve seen her out of those light up shoes since you got them.”

Kara adjusted her glasses and leaned against the cart as they watched Anya pick out a few notebooks, a small smile on her face. “I had to hide those from her two days ago so they wouldn’t get damaged. She refuses to sleep unless she has her red blanket cause it’s her ‘cape’. I think it’s cute but I’m worried the other kids will judge her for it.” She frowned slightly when Anya put a stack of Supergirl notebooks in the cart, surprisingly they were all different except for being Supergirl merchandise. She looked down at the list in Anya’s hands and turned to Lena as they began to head to the next thing on the list. “So, do you want to come to Movie Night tomorrow? We decided not to play games as it gets closer to school cause we can get loud and I don’t want to wake up Anya.” The cart rammed into a pillar and Anya giggled before putting her fingers through the grating to guide it. Kara’s face grew hot with embarrassment as she pushed the cart and groaned as she put her head in her hands, using her body to push the cart.

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad,” Lena said as she gently pushed Kara away and took over cart duty. “And of course I want to go. I love spending time with you.” They walked around to get the rest of the things and after a while Lena asked, “How many more things do we need?”

Kara went over to Anya as she paused in front of some stickers and took the list from her daughter’s overalls. She opened it and looked at it before glancing at the cart. “We just need stickers, a calculator, and a backpack. I have a binder I’m giving her and we already have the rest here. We are getting her backpack at Target cause they have the one she wants.” Kara frowned at the amount of things that were in the cart and the prices she remembered them being. It would be quite a bit and with food later she wondered if she would have enough for rent at the end of the month. She smiled, though, for her daughter and for Lena. She would ask J’onn about getting on the DEO’s payroll and maybe ask Cat for a raise despite how much that terrified her. She couldn’t get another job and she wouldn’t ask anyone for help. Her stomach twisted and she looked down as Anya put the last thing in the cart. “Is that it?” Anya nodded and Kara smiled as she took the cart from Lena. She paid for the supplies and handed the bags to Anya. It costed more than she expected and as soon as she was in the car she took a moment to just close her eyes and try to get the sick feeling in her stomach to go away.

“Are you okay?” Lena asked, sitting in the front with her this time. Kara stayed silent as she looked down at the gas gauge to see if she needed to get gas or if she could just leave it for her aunt. “Do you need gas money?”  
Kara shook her head. “No, my aunt likes to go to a certain gas station and I don’t know which so I’ll just let her take care of it. Her job pays better anyway.” She pulled out and made her way to Target, starting up her Disney music to fill the car with some sort of sound. It had to work, she needed this to work. She needed to make it work. She finally had Anya in her life full time she couldn’t lose that. She couldn’t lose Anya. The trip to the next store was short and Kara hardly registered getting the blue and red backpack that was shockingly without the House of El sigil. When they got back to the car, Kara looked at Lena before looking back at Anya. She leaned over to whisper to Lena, “I really don’t want to eat out right now, do you want to come back to my place for lunch?” Lena nodded when Kara leaned back and the blonde smiled. “Anya,” she began as she looked back at her daughter. “We are going to save eating out for your first day of school, do you want anything specific for lunch? We have stuff at home to make sandwiches and maybe later we can make brownies.”

Anya nodded and hummed in response, letting Kara know that sandwiches are okay. “Can Miss Leelee make brownies with us?” Anya asked as she pulled at the straps of her overalls. Kara fought against the frown that threatened to appear on her face as she began to drive. She knew at some point she wouldn’t be able to keep buying Anya new clothes every other week because she was testing her strength on them. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as her worry grew and she looked at Lena quickly as she drove.

“I can stay if that’s okay. I have nothing else planned.” Lena smiled when Kara gave a nod and looked back to see Anya was bouncing in her seat with excitement. Kara flicked her eyes to Lena to see the smile fade and she mentally cursed herself for letting her sunny exterior fade as she grew more and more wrapped up in her thoughts.

The Kryptonian sighed as she drove, letting Anya and Lena’s voices fill the background. Never had she had to think about financial issues, always having enough money to pay for her needs. She also never drove after college, finding walking to be way better and then flying. Now financial issues were all she could think about. She felt guilty for Lena having paid for Anya’s schooling and she wondered if Lena being wealthy was another reason she was holding back on starting anything with the woman despite the fact they both had been flirting often. The guilt from keeping Lena waiting ate at Kara as well yet Kara knew she wasn’t ready. Her financial state wasn’t stable, her mental state was iffy since Marcus came to National City, and her life was not that stable considering she was Supergirl. As she parked she looked at Lena and realized she needed to tell her before anything starts. She needed to tell Lena.

“Can you take Anya up?” Kara asked Lena as they got out of the car. “I need to give my aunt her keys and ask her about something.” Lena nodded as she picked up the tiny six year old and Kara smiled as she quickly grabbed the school supplies before heading inside, lowering her glasses to see if there was any mail for her. She went up the stairs until she was sure no one was watching and used her super speed to get Anya’s school things in the apartment before standing in front of her aunt’s door. She knocked lightly and called out, “Aunt Astra? I have your keys.”

The door opened to reveal Astra with her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and Kaeki in the background doing some sort of martial arts in a cleared area with her eyes closed. “Thank you, little one. Do you want to come in?” Kara nodded and Astra stepped out of the way to let her in. “How was shopping with Anya?” One look at her niece and Astra could tell something was wrong. “Did you find everything you needed?” A silent nod as Kara sat down on a stool at the kitchen island. “Did you get into an argument?” Shake of the head. Astra sighed as she pulled out a can of soda from her fridge and leaned against the kitchen island to look at Kara. “Then why do you look like something is wrong?”  
Kara closed her eyes and exhaled. “I am worried about money. I don’t want money from anyone other than the people who pay me for doing my job. I’m wondering if I should talk to J’onn about officially working for the DEO but that might make it harder to do my job at CatCo. I’m going to need the money though.” Astra was silent, probably understanding that Kara just needed someone to listen to her rather than advise her. “I also am thinking of telling Lena I’m Supergirl.” Kaeki opened her eyes and stopped her movements as she looked at Astra. “The fact we have been talking about dating is not a secret nor is the fact I wanted time after Mon-El before getting into a relationship. I can hear really well with my alien ears, I have heard all of you talking about it at the DEO.” Kara shook her head as Astra opened her mouth and she flicked her gaze to Kaeki as the girl walked over to the fridge to get something to drink, obviously trying to listen to the conversation. “I have to tell her, I won’t get into a relationship with this huge secret hanging in the air.” She took off her glasses and rubbed at her temples as she thought. Astra was still silent and Kaeki was sitting on the counter behind the general. “I’m ready to tell Lena, but I’m afraid she will be mad if I do or that she won’t want to date me. But, I’m not ready to date anyone, not with the fact I sit in my office crying at least once a day when I see Marcus. Not with the fact that I’m drowning in fear over not being able to support myself and my child.” She put her head in her hands and took a deep breath. “I just don’t know what to do.”

Astra walked over to Kara and wrapped her arms around her niece. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the top of Kara’s head. “If you aren’t ready, then you aren’t ready. Take your time and if it was meant to be then she will still be there. And with the Supergirl reveal, tell her if you want to, it’s your secret.” There was a knock on the door and Astra smiled as she pulled back to walk over to Kaeki. “That’s probably your daughter, go be with her. And for the future, never worry about pitching in for gas, I have it. Plus, come over for meals whenever you want and I’ll take Anya for you when you ever need.”

Kara put back on her glasses before wrapping her arms around Astra and murmured, “Thank you for everything, Aunt Astra.” She smiled at Kaeki who just blinked emotionlessly at her and then waved as she left to find Lena leaning against the hallway wall. “Where is Anya?”

Lena looked at the door and smiled. “She wanted to get all her things organized for school. Only a few more days.” She looked at Kara as the blonde looked at the ground. “Hey, is something wrong? You’ve been acting a bit-”  
“I’m Supergirl.” Kara’s eyes widened as she realized what she just blurted out. There went carefully wording things and telling Lena in private. The blonde grabbed Lena and pulled her into her apartment. She released Lena as she went to her room area to pull out the headphones she used for Anya and pulled out her phone to hand them to her daughter. “Here, Miss Leelee and I need to talk so listen to some Disney music, okay?” Anya nodded and Kara waited until she heard the familiar music before looking at Lena. The CEO’s brows were furrowed in thought as her green eyes darted back and forth between two nonexistent dots on the floor. “Lena, I didn’t mean to tell you like this, but I wanted to tell you if we we are going to date.” Lena was still silent as she stared at the floor, her eyes focusing on one spot. “Lena, please say something.”

Lena looked up and walked over to Kara, her hands going up the the buttons of Kara’s shirt. She looked at Kara as if asking permission and Kara nodded. Slender fingers began to free the buttons and, after what felt like days, those fingers traced over the House of El crest. “You’re Supergirl. It all makes sense now.” The panic in Kara’s eyes must have been clear because Lena’s other hand rose up to her cheek and rubbed over the Kryptonian’s skin in a soothing manner. “I understand why you didn’t tell me, I’m a Luthor. I’m glad you told me, though. I did have a suspicion though.” Her fingers ghosted over her skin until they rested on her scar. “The scar was a red flag,” the fingers moved away from the blonde’s face to button back up her shirt, “and the same eyes.” Lena smiled at Kara as she buttoned the last button. “I’m a bit upset you didn’t tell me but I understand. I’m a Luthor, you were protecting those you loved and who knew if I could be trusted.”  
Kara smiled and took Lena’s hands. “I knew you could be trusted,” she told Lena, earning a surprised look from the Luthor. “I kept it a secret because I wanted to protect you. And because the less people who know the better.” She put a hand on Lena’s cheek and glanced back to see Anya was engrossed in coloring and the music. “I wanted to tell you for a while but I didn’t know how.” She placed a chaste kiss on Lena’s forehead and stepped away to start getting the sandwiches ready. “This does mean I’m a bit closer to being ready to get back into dating too. I’m really sorry I’m not ready yet, I just don’t think it’s a good idea just yet.”

Lena nodded and stepped over to the sink to wash her hands so she could help. “It’s okay, Kara, you need time and I’m willing to give it to you. Just tell me when you are ready and we can go from there.” Lena began to make a sandwich next to Kara and her eyes widened when she saw how much she was putting on it. “Is this why you eat so much and don’t look like you eat a lot?” Kara smiled as she nodded and Lena laughed.

They continued to talk, Anya coming over after a minute or so to help out, and then they ate their lunch while watching _Frozen_. After being told she didn’t have to hide her powers, Anya began to show Lena her powers and Kara could tell Lena had questions despite not voicing them. They would talk more later but for now they just enjoyed each other’s company and played with Anya, helping her get ready for the start of school coming up shortly. Kara couldn’t help but feel better as she felt a weight lifted off her chest that she didn’t even realize existed. She could tell it would be better from that point on. It would work out somehow and things would be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Kara is freaking out over finances, she told Lena she is Supergirl, and Anya is starting school soon. This was just a filler but I felt like with all Kara was going through mentally she would want to tell Lena about her being Supergirl, plus she wouldn't want to be in a relationship before telling the other about it. I'm planning to really go into how much Kara is freaking out especially with all the expenses private school will bring up(I went to private school, parents are asked to help out and pay for all kinds of things). I have a few more filler chapters before I get into some of the bigger plot things so I'm accepting requests that people want. Please leave comments, feedback, and kudos it motivates me immensely to see those numbers on the stats go up. Thank you for reading ^^


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi, my readers, sorry updates take so long. I have another account, hoshiringo (please check it out the fics on that account are my fav to write other than this fic especially check out 'I Didn't Want This' if you like kid fics and angst tho right now only one of the children has been born), that I've been working on and I've been busy recently with job searching and I'm starting this thing that will take time away from writing. Anyway, I like this chapter because we get some of it in Anya's pov tho its short. We also see Marcus again and a surprise. Not much goes on but there is a flashback and some important introductions and mental thoughts. I am going to start having some of Anya's point of view come up more often and it will tell some important things that will explain stuff in the future. Anyway, please enjoy. Don't forget to check out my other account hoshiringo and you can message me about possible spoilers, just chat about the fic, or to tell me something you want to see in the fic on tumblr at queenghostling. Please leave feedback, comments, and kudos. I love you all ^^

_Kara landed softly in the fields near the Kent house as her heart pounded hard in her chest as she stared at the house. It was about to rain and she had only a few hours before she was going to be picked up by Alex to head to Midvale. It would be her last chance to go for a while and she wanted to see Eliza before she began to avoid her and Alex. Her hand went to her stomach as a drop of rain landed on her head and something small bumped her hand. Tears filled her eyes as she began to cry, snaking her arms around herself as she made her way to the house as the rain fell harder. It was her only chance to get help, her only chance to make sure her baby had a good home. A safe home. As she stood on the porch the fact she was pregnant filled her mind and she placed her hand on the door as she cried. Someone must have heard her because footsteps approached the door and she stepped back to see her cousin answer the door._

_Clark blinked as he took in the sight of his cousin soaking wet with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Kara, come in,” he told her as he used super speed to grab a towel for the blonde. “Are you okay?” He lowered his glasses to do a check over of the other Kryptonian but a hand stopped him as Kara took the towel from him. He let go of his glasses as he looked at the girl in front of him. “Kara, why are you here?”_

_A shaky breath left Kara’s lips as she wrapped the towel around herself and put her hand on her stomach. “S-Something happened and I need help,” she told him as she looked up at him. Confusion showed on his face as Martha appeared from the kitchen. “Kal, I don’t know what to do, please help me.” Fresh tears rolled down her face as she held out her hand for Clark’s. The man put his hand on hers and she placed it on her stomach. “Please,” she pleaded in a soft whisper._

_Clark cursed under his breath and pulled Kara in for a hug, careful not to hold her too tight. “How far along are you? Can’t you usually see a bump when you can feel a kick?” Kara was silent except for her sobs as Martha came over and looked between the two aliens before looking at her son expectantly. “Ma, I think I have to ask a huge favor from you and Pa.” He ran his hands comfortingly through his cousin’s hair as she continued to cry and he closed his eyes as he listened to the small heartbeat he hadn’t heard before. “Kara’s pregnant.”_

_Martha gasped and told Clark, “Go get your father. Let me get Kara some food and a change of clothes.” She took Kara from her adopted son and guided her over to the kitchen to sit at the table. She heated up some soup and the entire time Kara just sat there staring blankly at the table. “You never told anyone before this I’m guessing.” Kara looked at her and gave a small nod as the older woman placed the bowl of soup in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell your mom or your sister?”_

_Kara looked at the steaming meal in front of her and put a hand on her stomach. “Because I’m not ready,” she murmured. “I’m not ready to be a mother and I’m not ready to tell Eliza or Alex about this baby I didn’t even plan to have.” There was a concerned look in the woman’s eyes as Kara looked at her and she felt tears begin to roll down her face. “I couldn’t stop him without losing control. I couldn’t- I couldn’t make him stop.” Martha’s arms wrapped around her and she leaned against the woman as she cried. “Now I am pregnant and I don’t know what to do. I can’t- I’m only eighteen. I have nowhere to live, no money, no job, nothing. I haven’t even gone to a doctor about the baby. All I know about pregnancy for Kryptonians is what I learned from my aunt. I know that it’s okay if I don’t show until later and I know that I don’t have much more time before I figure out what to do. I don’t know what to do though.”_

_Martha looked up as her husband and Clark came in and she pleaded with them using her eyes. Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck and nodded at his wife. “Kara, me and Martha can take the baby for a while until you are ready, if you become ready. We raised Clark so we know what to expect.”_

_Kara wiped at her eyes and looked at the man. “You would do that for me? Really? Could I come and visit on weekends or whenever I can? I still want to be a part of their life and I want to know them. I’ll even set aside money to send to help support them.” He nodded and a bright smile formed on Kara’s lips as she quickly ate the soup and asked Clark if they could go to the Fortress of Solitude to check on the baby before she had to go back. Perhaps she wasn’t going to be a horrible mother after all._

 

 

Kara groaned as the sound of an alarm woke her up, the small body curled against hers shifting closer. Her eyes blinked open as the alarm continued to rouse her from her slumber and she turned to snooze it, Anya clinging to her so that she turned with her. Snoozing her alarm, she looked at the numbers and shut her eyes for a moment as she draped one arm over her eyes and the other over Anya. The door of her apartment opened and soon the smell of biscuits filled the air. With a sigh, Kara gently pried Anya off her and padded over to the kitchen to find Astra cooking while Kaeki sat on the counter in a school uniform similar to Anya’s. She rubbed her eyes and found her aunt looking at her expectantly.

“Oh, shoot!” Kara exclaimed as she rushed back to her bed and shook her daughter gently. “Anya, sweetie, it’s your first day of school. Anya, time to get up.” The tiny six year old sat up and yawned as she looked up. Her blonde hair was sticking up at odd angles and her eyes were half closed. “Aunt Astra is making food and Kaeki is here too.” A smile formed on her lips as Anya’s eyes opened fully and she stood up on the bed at the mention of her friend. “Get ready for school before seeing Kaeki.”

The tiny blonde hopped off the bed and bounded over to the bathroom to get ready. The older blonde quickly got dressed before heading back to the kitchen to see Kaeki watching her emotionlessly while taking small bites out of half a biscuit. Astra turned to hand Kara a plate with eight biscuits and began to dish out the rest for herself and Anya. “Kaeki, don’t stare,” Astra said as she set Anya’s plate down next to where Kara was sitting and sat down across from the girl. “People don’t like being stared at and you won’t get their attention that way. It only works with me because I’m used to it even after all these years. You need to use your voice.”

“But I don’t like using English,” Kaeki complained, an accent showing as she spoke. “It sounds ugly and it’s difficult. Where am I supposed to say I am from anyway?” She finished off her breakfast as Anya emerged fully dressed in her light blue and navy jumper with a white button up short sleeved shirt underneath just like Kaeki was wearing. It was one of the options she had to wear but it was what she liked most and Kara wondered if that was why Kaeki was wearing the same thing. Since when was the Twilae even enrolled in the school? “ _Vaea_ ,” Kaeki greeted as she hopped off the counter to go hug the small blonde. “I wish Astra would have told me about this schooling so that I could have told her to put me in the same group as you.”

Anya hugged Kaeki back before climbing up onto the stool so she could eat. “I like that I’ll have an older friend. Also, I want to try to be able to be around people and if we were in the same class I might not talk to anyone else.” The little girl leaned against her mother as she began to eat and Kara smiled as she gently brushed back the freckled girl’s hair as she ate. “Mommy, are we going with Aunt ‘Stra?”

Kara looked at her aunt who shrugged as she watched Kaeki look at Anya’s drawings. “We can go with them. Your school is close to work anyway so it would be nice to walk after we get you to school.” Kara looked at her phone and noticed the time, standing as she began to go around to make sure her daughter was all packed. “Which we need to leave for now to get to on time to find your classroom and meet your teacher. Go finish getting ready.”

The blonde ran off after finishing off her last biscuit and Kara sighed as she took out her wallet to put some cash in Anya’s bag just in case. All she had was two tens and she knew she had about the same amount that she could use for spending after bills and rent was paid. She took out one of the tens and put it in one of the smaller sections of the backpack. She wasn’t prepared for this, she had planned to save up more. She had some money in her savings but it was for food and emergencies. At least she didn’t have to pay any medical bills since she had the DEO for that. She walked over to the fridge and used her super speed to make a sandwich for Anya’s lunchbox and added a juice box and some Oreos before putting it with her daughter’s bag.

“Kaeki, go get your stuff from the apartment,” Astra told the girl as she went over to Kara who was starting to mutter off her checklist rather than mentally going over it. “Kara,” Astra murmured glancing over at the half-closed curtain that separated them from Anya. Her voice was low so the small child wouldn’t hear but it seemed as though Kara hadn’t either as she began going through her and Anya’s things. “Kara,” Astra repeated. She recognized what was going on with Kara from what she remembered from being in the Military Guild on Krypton. The new recruits would be nervous and overwhelmed and would act just as Kara was. “Kara.” The blonde stiffened and froze. “You need to calm down. You need to slow down and focus.”

Kara closed her eyes and exhaled slowly as she followed her aunt’s instructions. She did need to slow down. Her fears and concerns were getting the best of her and overwhelming her. She needed to focus on getting Anya to school and into a more normal life. Anya needed a good normal life. A life where she didn’t suffer. Kara opened her eyes and looked over as Anya came back over with her socks and shoes on. A smile formed on Kara’s lips as she looked at her daughter. The sight of her child would never fail to put a smile on her lips, the fact that something so precious, so pure, was hers made her worries pale in comparison. She used super speed to check everything one last time before putting the backpack on Anya, handing the girl her lunchbox, and grabbing her things and picked up her daughter as she stood by the door.

“You ready, sunshine?” Kara asked as Astra walked after them as Kara opened the door to leave. Anya nodded and clung to her mother as Kara locked the door and waited for Astra to get Kaeki. She planted a kiss on the closest part of her daughter’s head as she headed down to the car and decided to sit in the back with her daughter as the thought of leaving her daughter with a complete stranger began to terrify her. Oh Rao, she was going to be one of those parents. The parent who cries when they drop their child off at school. She was going to be that parent. Looking over at her child, she took in the numerous cowlicks she could never tame, the spray of freckles that drew attention to those blue eyes that were so big and innocent and full of curiosity.

Astra parked and Kara took a breath and got out of the car, helping Anya down after she was out. “Remember what Alex told you,” she said to her aunt as she got her and her daughter's stuff. “If anyone asks, say Kaeki was born in the Middle East since that’s where her accent sounds like it’s from.” How Alex came up with how the Twilae’s accent sounded similar to that of someone from that region Kara had no idea, but after numerous videos and arguments at the DEO with a few other agents it was agreed that the accent was similar. Which part of the Middle East, they didn’t pinpoint since the accent seemed to fluctuate to incorporate different aspects of the different accents in that area but it was a cover and one they could work with. As long as Kaeki didn’t talk about her past and her planet’s culture they would be able to get away with it. After all, CADMUS seemed to have wanted these children dead or at least thought they were so if they learned they weren’t they could come after them.

Astra nodded and began to head inside with the Twilae girl. Hopefully, Kaeki would be able to conceal her tattoos over the course of the day and wouldn’t do anything to out herself. Kara knew Anya would mostly try to avoid others and since she was raised on Earth there wouldn’t be any issues with that. But what if she was bullied? What if she got her super hearing while at school? What if she didn’t make any friends? What if she didn’t do well? Worry tugged at her mind until a small hand slipped into hers and began to pull her towards the school building.

“Keira?” Kara turned to see Cat Grant with her son just as they reached the door. “I didn’t know you were sending your daughter here. How are you-”

“Lena Luthor gave her a scholarship,” Kara told her boss as she ran her hand over Anya’s hair. “I have to go get her to her classroom, I want to talk to the teacher beforehand.” She completely forgot that this was the school Carter attended and she was slightly glad for it since perhaps Cat would be lax around the times school things are going on. She watched as the boy went on ahead of his mother and she looked at the older blonde confused. “Why are you dropping off Carter? Usually you are at work by now.”

Cat looked at her before looking off towards the sidewalk. “I always personally take Carter the first day of the school year but I saw you and noticed a familiar face that I know you aren’t a fan of. Based on what your sister told me and the age of your daughter I’m assuming he is the father so I thought you should know he is watching.” Kara stiffened and Anya perked up at the mention of the word father. Cat studied them and realization appeared on her face before an apologetic look took its place. “She doesn’t- Oh, I’m sorry I thought she- Well, he is over there. If you need advice on dealing with men who don’t know when to back off, I have plenty of that, Keira. I have to go, I’m sorry for saying anything but I thought you should know.” She began to walk back towards the parking lot, looking at Kara as she tightened her hold on her daughter. “I’ll see you at work.”

Kara used her enhanced vision to scan the area and saw Marcus leaning against a tree as he looked at them. Her heart pounded in her chest and she saw Anya looking around as well. “Anya,” she began as she knelt down, “Anya, I love you so much and because of that I have to tell you that you cannot look for your father. He- Anya, we can talk about this later. But promise me, please.” The small child nodded and she exhaled as she stood. She had no idea what was running though that little head but hopefully Anya wouldn’t look for Marcus. She took her daughter’s hand and walked inside to the elementary school office to figure out where Anya’s classroom would be.

“Can I help you?” a middle-aged woman asked as she saw the pair come in.

“Um, yes,” Kara answered as she walked up to the desk. “I’m looking for my daughter’s classroom so I can talk to the teacher. It’s her first time in school and she is extremely shy and I just want to talk to the teacher before school starts.”

The woman rolled the chair so she could look at Anya and then rolled back. “Pre-K classrooms are-”

“She’s in first grade,” Kara corrected, cutting off the woman. “Anya Danvers. She’s in Ms. Lowry’s class.”

“She looks like she’s four and it’s her first time in school,” the woman countered.

“She lived with relatives until a while ago and was home schooled,” Kara told her. “And she does look four but I promise she is six. Now, please tell me where the classroom is.” The woman mumbled the directions and Kara smiled as she thanked her before taking Anya to her classroom. “Now, remember to be nice and talk to others,” she told her daughter as they walked. “If you know the answer to a question don’t be afraid to answer, and if you don’t get called on to answer don’t worry. You are going to do so well, I believe in you. We will get ice cream after school and you can come to work with me to color in the office. You can see Uncle Clark too.” She squeezed Anya’s hand as they came up to the classroom, other parents dropping off their children too. She found a sweet looking woman standing in front of the door greeting people and watching the children as a teacher’s aide wrote on the board inside. She approached the woman with a smile and waved. “Hi, Ms. Lowry? I’m Kara Danvers and this is my daughter Anya.”

Ms. Lowry looked at the pair and smiled as she offered her hand for Kara to shake. “Hi, yes I’m Ms. Lowry. I remember that name, I got an email about an Anya Danvers’ getting the Luthor scholarship this year directly from Lena Luthor herself. Your daughter must be something for that to have happened.” She looked down at Anya who was clinging to Kara’s leg and smiled. “Is she shy?”

Kara nodded and began to run her hand over Anya’s hair. “This is her first time in school and she is incredibly shy,” she told the woman, ignoring the lengths Lena went to with the scholarship. “I’m also a single mother and I work at CatCo so my aunt will be picking her up since the girl she takes care of is in third grade. Can you make sure that any notices or papers that I need to see are in her folder for me to see? Also, she pulls at her clothes a lot and if she does it a lot can you please tell me that too because she does it so much I have to get new clothes often for her. And who do I see to make sure someone can never pick her up?”

The teacher chuckled and crouched down to be at eye level with Anya. “Hey, Anya, why don’t you go inside and find your desk? I have to talk to your Mom for a moment.”

Anya tightened her grip around Kara’s leg and the older blonde took a deep breath as she pried Anya off her. “Sunshine, you have to go. I’ll make sure to pick you up today right after school and I’ll see you then. I promise.” She felt her heart ache as Anya sniffled and wiped at her face. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Anya, I love you so much. You have to be brave and strong. Like Supergirl. Can you do that for me?” Anya nodded as she buried her face in Kara’s neck and Kara kissed her daughter’s head. She felt like she was leaving a part of herself but she had to be strong for Anya. She had to be strong. She stood as Anya backed away to go into the classroom. Wrapping her arms around herself, Kara looked at the woman and took a shaky breath.

“The first time is always the hardest,” the woman said as she glanced at the small girl wandering the classroom looking for her desk, being careful not to touch anyone. “You sound like either you are a helicopter parent or like a parent with a child who is a bit different. From the email I got on your daughter, I know she was living apart until recently so I’m going to assume it is a mix of both. I will keep an eye on your daughter, it is her first year in school and she seems like she could have some social issues which I do need to look out for as a teacher. As for someone who you don’t want picking her up would it be safe to assume you mean the father?”

Kara nodded and sighed. “I was eighteen when I had Anya and her father is not a good person. Just, don’t let a Marcus Morrison take her or talk to her or even near her. Please.”

Ms. Lowry furrowed her brows as she walked inside the classroom a bit to grab a clipboard and she ran her finger down the list of names on the paper. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything but keep him from taking her unless she goes home with one of her classmates. Marcus is the father of Maddy Morrison. Her mother talked to me early about how because of work they were living apart but since he is in town he will be picking Maddy up often to make up for lost time. I can’t do anything but keep him from leaving with Anya. I’m sorry.” She lowered the clipboard and looked at Kara. “And I heard he was a wonderful person. But I will try to do my best for everything else. Now class is starting soon so I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Miss Danvers.”

Kara gave a small nod and wave before leaving, her hands shaking. Marcus could talk to Anya if he wanted to. He could take her. He could get Anya to walk to know him. She didn’t want that. She held back tears as she walked outside, Astra’s car gone, and noticed Marcus was still standing where he had been. Her hands curled into fists as she approached him, a scowl on her face while he smirked at her. “Stay away from my daughter,” Kara told him through gritted teeth.

Marcus still smirked as he looked the blonde up and down. “That’s going to be hard since my daughter is in that grade too. You weren’t the only girl I met in college and definitely not the one I fell in love with.” There was a dark glint in his eyes as he added in a low voice, “Though, you were my favorite to sleep with.” He smirked more at the shocked expression on Kara’s face as she tensed at his words. “She’s a cute little thing though. Anya is her name, right? I wonder if she and Maddy will become friends. It would be nice for them to since they are sisters.”

Kara felt sick as she backed away from him to head to work. It was bad enough she had to see him at work, now there was a chance Anya would meet him. After all these years of carefully avoiding the subject of the little girl’s father she would have to talk about him. She didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to tell her daughter she was unplanned. That she wasn’t born out of love. Kara bolted into an alley and sent a text to Lucy asking him to tell anyone who asked that she would be a bit late. Glancing around, her feet left the ground as she changed into Supergirl and flew to the DEO. Focused on one thing and one thing only, she found herself in the training room. Found herself punching blocks of concrete as hot tears rolled down her face. As the block became reduced to dust, Kara fell to her knees, sobbing at the thought of having to see Marcus again outside of work. Seeing him around Anya. Seeing him at all. It made her sick. It made her feel broken and used. So tainted. Her vision went red as a sob ripped from her throat as heat poured from her eyes and into the wall she was grateful could withstand the blast. She would be late to work, she would lose pay, but she didn’t care in that moment. She didn’t care at all as she collapsed onto her side and wouldn’t be found until a few minutes later when her aunt would find her. The only thing on her mind was Anya.

 

*~*~*

 

Anya sat at her desk silently as the others in her class began to talk during snack. She missed her mother and she wanted to go find Kaeki so she had someone. There was no one there she knew and she was afraid. She pulled at the hem of her jumper and glanced around as she saw others begin to take out snacks from their bags. She turned to get her Oreos and as she did noticed Kaeki standing outside the door peeking in. The teacher seemed to have noticed as well and Kaeki left as Anya smiled and waved.

“Was that a friend of yours?” a tan boy with chestnut hair and brown eyes, Jacob, asked her. He sat at her group of four along with one of the two Maddy’s in the class and Cole. She nodded and looked down as she opened up the cookies. His eyes widened as he saw her Oreos were double stuffed and he pulled out his own pack of Oreos. “We have the same snack! That’s so cool. My name is Jacob, what’s yours?”

Anya looked at him and blinked a few times before looked down as she grabbed one of the cookies. “Anya,” she told him as she brought the snack to her lips. She glanced at him briefly before glancing at the other two across from them. Maddy was blonde like her but her eyes were more grey and Cole had sandy brown hair with green eyes like Miss Leelee. But there was something felt off about the girl across from her. Then she heard what they were saying.

“My daddy always wonders why they let aliens around,” Maddy told Cole. The girl’s freckles scrunched up with her nose. “I don’t see what’s so different about Supergirl or the hero in Metropolis. My daddy used to live there for work which is also why he moved here. He and Mommy say that aliens are bad people.”

“No, they aren’t,” Anya blurted causing the other girl’s eyes to look at her. She fought the urge to look away as she met the girl’s eyes. There was something about her that made Anya curious about Maddy now that she was looking at her deeper. Was it the freckles or her eyes? What was it? “Aliens aren’t bad people.”

There was a moment of silence at the table as the two girls looked at each other. Maddy smiled after a while as the two boys shared a look that told the other they were just as worried that the two would clash and everyone at the table looked at the smiling blonde in confusion. “I don’t think they are either. I was just saying what my mommy and daddy say.” She held out a M&M for Anya to take and beamed at the smaller blonde. “I’m Maddy Morrison, let’s be friends.”

The last name felt familiar but she didn’t know why. She pulled out an Oreo and handed it to Maddy as she took the cookie. “Anya Danvers,” she murmured. She took a bite from the cookie hesitantly and looked at the other girl. “We can be friends.” She thought of her mom and how she had hoped for Anya to make friends. This girl wanted to be friends and so hopefully it would be good that they were. It would be good to make human friends too. She knew she was half human but she still considered herself a full alien since she had powers and she really only knew her mom. Who was her father? Mommy never talked about him until that day and even then it was to just say that he was not someone she should look for, overhearing her tell Ms. Lowry that he was a bad person. But whatever they said after she didn’t know but the promise she made to be like her mother’s superhero persona made her know to be friendly, be strong, and to be brave. So, she smiled and gave short responses during the rest of snack time. She could do this, she could. For her hero. For the one person she knew loved her unconditionally. For the one person who made her feel safe and okay. For her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Astra is noticing that Kara is having issues, Kaeki attends school, Anya is making friends with her half-sister, and Marcus has a family with a woman he got pregnant around the same time as Kara. Lots of surprise, hopefully some good insight into things, and we are starting on Kara's path to some major angst. We will see more of Marcus and Kara interacting over the children and we will also meet Marcus' wife down the road. I'm also thinking up some possible angst but I'm curious how well it would be received if Kara perhaps had another child down the road like in a few years? Yay or nay? I'm being evil and some ideas I'm having for one of my hoshiringo fics is making me think about doing something not exact but similar to it in this fic. But since I don't write for just me here, I wanna give a chance for ya'll to voice your opinions here. So please leave a comment or I'll just keep weighing my options. But if I do go down that road I will have some good angst lined up for that. But I hoped you enjoyed this update and don't forget to look at my other account, hoshiringo, please. I got some great fics on that account and I'm trying to advertise where I can which happens to be my other account's fics lol. Please leave comments, feedback, and kudos. Message me on tumblr at queenghostling. Love you all.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello I have another update. Before I go into anything on this chapter I want to say I think it was misunderstood my question at the end of the last chapter. I'm planning ahead and I'm thinking of having Kara have another child years later from where we are now. In my original plot of this story Anya had a sibling and she was eight but since she is six here that sibling hasn't been born. I've taken out some elements as well but the sibling is something I'm still on the fence about. Keep in mind, my question on if Kara should have another child (most likely when Anya is eight and Lena and Kara are together) is still up for answering. I just wanted to clarify things and I hope that did. I'm sorry if I frightened anyone but rest assured that if there is another child it will come years from now in the fic and will also most likely be a supercorp child too. Anyway, in this chapter not much goes on, it's more of a transitional chapter that really gets things moving for this arc, and because of that it's mostly emotions and mental things. Please check out my other account, hoshiringo, and you can find me on tumblr at queenghostling. Please leave comments, feedback, and kudos. I love you all my beloved readers.

It was a few days after Anya started school and things were going surprisingly well. Kara thought she would have to see Marcus again at Anya’s school but she was happy to see that after that first day he would just be dropping off while his wife, Mandy, picked up Maddy. She also was confused to hear that she _could_ keep Marcus from picking up Anya at all at the front office when her teacher said otherwise. It was odd but Kara had no time to think about it as she and Clark began to work on the story they were on about the murders. A story that they had to work on with Marcus. Luckily, Clark would offer to talk to his coworker to keep Kara from having to see him, but even being in the same place as him created panic deep inside her. At least Anya wouldn’t be near him. But something nagged at her and bothered her. Marcus seemed like such a nice person and according to Anya Maddy was really nice as well. But after what he did, after how he talked to her, she didn’t understand it.

“What has you so lost in thought, little one?” Astra asked as she stopped helping Lucy with setting up for Game Night and ran her fingers through Kara’s hair as the blonde leaned against the wall looking over Kaeki and Anya as they watched a movie. Kara sighed and shook her head which caused Astra to frown. “I’m here for you whenever you need me, Kara. If you ever want to talk I’m here.” Lucy called for the woman and she kissed Kara’s head before going back to the smaller woman.

Anya stood up on the couch and turned to look at her mother with a frown and concern in her eyes. Kara wondered if her super hearing was coming in or if she could just tell when something was wrong. She smiled at her daughter and went over to the girls, picking up her daughter so that Anya would be on her lap. “How was your first week of school? Do you have friends?” Kara asked both girls as she held Anya to her. Her daughter rested her head against her chest, back to the movie as she chose Kara over Disney, and Kara smiled into Anya’s hair.

“There are boys who mock my accent,” Kaeki told Kara as she rolled her eyes. She was looking at the phone Astra had gotten her and was on an alien chatroom she had found. Apparently, one or two on the chat attended Anya and Kaeki’s school but not in one of their classes. It intrigued Kara that there were other aliens at the school but Anya didn’t show any interest in meeting them unless Kaeki did. “I would have taken their heads for such rude remarks but Astra told me I cannot do that on this planet, sadly.” She mumbled something in her native language and stood up to go over to Astra.

Kara rubbed her thumb over Anya’s shoulder as she held her daughter and frowned at the fact her daughter hadn’t answered her question. Did she not have any friends other than Maddy or Kaeki? Kara still hadn’t told Anya who her father was, their talk after that first day of school just being about how her father was a bad man but that didn’t mean that Anya was bad because she got all the goodness from Kara instead. She knew one day she would have to, one day she would have to tell her daughter how she came to be in this world and who her father was. That her father hated what she considered herself to be and wished them gone or dead, his views on aliens quite clear in some of his opinionated articles. Soft breathing reached Kara’s ears and she realized that Anya was asleep, a smile forming on her lips as she stood up holding her daughter.

“Anya fell asleep so I’m going to put her to bed,” she told Astra and Lucy. Kara wondered what had happened at school to make her daughter so tired on a Friday when usually Anya was so energetic on those days. She hadn’t had a chance to hear about Anya’s day since she had back to back Supergirl issues come up and had to talk to J’onn about an alien that had they are going after the next day, Astra picking up both girls and bringing them straight home to watch a movie. As she changed Anya into her pajamas, she wondered how long she could rely on Astra for help with Anya. How long she could continue to ask Lucy for help with things. Lately, the shorter woman had been coming over to babysit more and more because someone needed Supergirl or there was a new lead on a story. Since most of Lucy’s job was paperwork and emails she could do it anywhere but Kara still felt bad. She should be able to do things on her own for her child. Anya was her daughter and her responsibility, she was just being a burden on others by asking for help.

“Hey, Kara, Astra and Kaeki are going to go out to get some more chips,” Lucy told her softly as she poked in through the curtain. She watched as Kara sat on the edge of the bed brushing back Anya’s hair while the six year old slept in one of Kara’s old t-shirts. “How much she looks like you still amazes me. You couldn’t even tell he was her father except for the freckles.”

Kara’s expression grew solemn as she ran a thumb over a cluster of freckles on Anya’s cheek. “I’m glad she looks like me,” Kara confessed softly. “If she had more of his features I probably wouldn’t be able to keep it together.” It was a horrible thing to confess and she knew it. But it was the truth and she hated it. As much as she loved her daughter, Anya was still the outcome of something horrible. She would never tell her daughter that, though. Never tell her that she was unwanted. “But I find her freckles adorable and I love them on her. I love all of her.”

Lucy walked over to Kara as Anya shifted in her sleep. Wrapping her arms around her friend, the brunette rested her chin on the blonde’s head. “After what happened to you, I honestly wouldn’t blame you but I think it’s a good thing that you love your daughter. She’s adorable and sweet and she has so much of you in her. I know you worry about her meeting her dad but I know that she will always be just like you.” Lucy pulled back and put a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Come on, we need to get things set up. The others will be here soon and Anya will be okay.”

Kara sighed as she leaned down to place a kiss on her daughter’s forehead before standing to go help Lucy. She hadn’t planned on hosting Game Night, wanting to wait before having anymore at her place until Anya had gotten more used to school. But Anya had wanted to see Zelo and the boy refused to leave Alex’s place unless he had to which led to Alex promising to bring him next Game Night. The result was having a Game Night early enough that Anya would play with her friends long enough before she passed out and on a day that wouldn’t interfere with school. Honestly, Kara was not in the right mindset for doing this but it was for Anya and she would get to see Lena who had been too busy during the week to meet up. A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts as she walked over to open it and smiled at her sister on the other side with Zelo.

“Hey, Kara,” Alex greeted her little sister as she came in with Zelo shuffling behind glaring at Alex’s back. She pursed her lips as she turned to look at the boy and sighed as she pulled out her phone. “Zelo, remember you are here for Anya.” He grumbled, tail lashing, and walked over to the couch to brood. The tall brunette rolled her eyes as she went to the fridge to get a beer. Alex froze as she looked at the fridge and Kara felt herself grow anxious knowing it was not as full as it should be to feed a Kryptonian and a half Kryptonian child. “Kara,” Alex began to say in that big sister concerned voice of hers.

Lucy looked at them as she began to get games out and the Wii U set up the kids. Kara wrapped her arms around her stomach and avoided Alex’s eyes as she went over to her sister and shut the fridge. “Don’t worry about it, Alex,” Kara murmured as she pulled out a large bowl and a bag of white cheddar popcorn. “I’m handling it.” She cringed at how unconvincing she sounded, knowing Alex knew about her struggles since she had ranted to her a few times over the week whenever she was at the DEO. She looked at the ground as Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door just as Astra opened it. Looks were exchanged but no words as Alex moved out of the way for Astra and Kaeki before dragging Kara out into the hall to talk. “Alex,” Kara began to protest.

“No, you don’t get to ‘Alex’ me, Kara,” Alex snapped as she looked at her sister. “You need help, your job doesn’t pay that much even after Cat gave your pay a little bonus when she found out about Anya. If you need help you can ask for it, Kara. It’s not just you anymore, you have your daughter to think about.” Alex sighed and looked at the ground as she paused. “I know you can’t take on another job, you already have two full time jobs, but if you ask J’onn might add you onto the payroll. There are great benefits too. Look at how Astra is able to send Kaeki to that private school and how I can feed an alien teenage boy. I know you think it will add more onto what you do, and I can’t say it won’t, but, Kara, you need to do what’s best for your daughter.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Kara snapped harshly causing Alex to flinch. She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall. “I know I need to support Anya. I know I have to figure out a way to pay for food and clothes and all these necessities. I know. But since school started I’ve hardly had the time to be with Anya and I don’t want to lose anymore time. Either it’s CatCo or Supergirl taking me away and I’ve hardly picked her up or even taken her to school. Do you know how much it hurts to have a Supergirl emergency in the morning and come back to find a note from your aunt telling you she took the girls to school? Or how much it hurts when you have a deadline coming up on an article and you can’t leave to pick up your daughter because if you do you won’t finish on time? It hurts a lot, Alex. I finally got Anya in my life and I’m doing such a bad job at parenting.” She slid down the wall to sit on the ground as tears burned her eyes and she put her head in her hands. “What if I can’t take care of her? I couldn’t take care of her for six years and the only reason I have her now is because she wanted to live with me so much she made it impossible for the Kents to take care of her anymore. Alex, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know anything and I already missed six years. I missed-” Sobs grew muffled as she buried her face in her arms and she leaned into Alex as her sister wrapped her arms around her. She hated herself so much for not being there for Anya those six years and now she hated herself even more for not being a good mother, for not knowing what to do.

Alex rubbed soft circles into Kara’s back as she rested her forehead against the blonde’s head. “It’s okay,” she murmured comfortingly, her guilt over snapping at Kara showing in her voice. “I’ll help however I can. We can get Zelo to babysit. We are arguing over enrolling him in school so perhaps this could be the compromise.” The door opened as Lucy poked her head out and Alex turned to shake her head at the other agent. As soon as the door closed, Alex turned back and wiped away Kara’s tears. “I know you want to be with her as much as you can, but you’re a single mom with two jobs but only one that pays. Ask J’onn to get you on the payroll, you already work for the DEO technically. I know you aren’t Supergirl for the money, but you need to think about it for Anya.” She stood up and held out her hand to help her sister up. “Come on, let’s get back inside.”

Kara stood and wiped her face off as she followed Alex back inside. She was glad Anya was asleep because she would hate for her daughter to see her after she had just sobbed out in the hallway. She didn’t want to worry the little girl. As she came back inside she found Lucy teaching the aliens in the apartment how to play Mario Kart and Kara found it amusing how frustrated she looked trying to explain. Her eyes found Winn and she blinked in confusion at the fact Winn was here when he wasn’t before.

“Winn, when did you get here?” Kara asked as she walked over to the curtain dividing her apartment to check on her daughter. A frown formed as she watched Anya toss and turn, her stuffed bunny on the floor. She had no idea if she should go in and comfort her daughter or if it was normal. Usually, Anya slept peacefully at night. Perhaps it was because Kara wasn’t there as well. Was sleeping in the same bed as her something that she should pull back from? She wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch or maybe she should try to save up for a new apartment. Now that she thought about it what did Astra and Kaeki do?

“Kara,” Lucy said causing Kara to turn and look at her. She had spaced out and by the looks on her friend’s face she had for a while. “Is everything okay?”

Kara smiled and nodded. “I was just listening for anything that might need Supergirl and I just got caught up in it, sorry.” She looked at her daughter and noticed she was peacefully asleep on her stomach which comforted her a bit. She dropped the curtain and went over to the others as Kaeki examined one of the controllers. “How is teaching them how to play? I was thinking the kids could play on the Wii possible with an adult. James isn’t going to be here so we will have one extra if we are going to be doing teams. I assume Maggie and Alex will team up automatically and so that leaves Winn, Lucy, Astra, Lena, and I to figure out teams.” She looked at the games that had been set out and added, “When we do team stuff if we play those games tonight.”

“Like you and Lena won’t latch onto each other as soon as we start playing in teams,” Lucy said with a smirk. She chuckled as Kaeki thrusted the controller into Astra’s hands before going to grab the bowl of popcorn before coming back to sit next to Astra. The pair began to speak in Twilaen and Lucy groaned as they laughed at whatever they said. “My God, can you to like clue us into whatever secret conversation you are having so we don’t think you are planning to take over the world?”

Kaeki’s nose scrunched up at Lucy’s words. “Your language sounds ugly. The accent my native language gives me when I speak your horrific language at least makes it bearable.”

Astra put a hand on Kaeki’s head and began to pet the girl, Kaeki leaning into Astra as if to make sure she kept doing so. “We are just saying how difficult it is to work this Wii. The Twilae were not big into technology, the most they had was energy based weaponry that resembles your ancient ones. Bows, swords, spears, things such as that only made of stones that produce energy that could slice through metal. And for me this technology is so ancient that I have no idea how to work it.”

Winn lit up at the talk of alien tech and he began to bombard the two with questions. Zelo rolled his eyes and took the controller as he began to play. He was surprisingly good at Mario Kart and Kara wondered if Alex had introduced him to games since he moved in. She didn’t really let Anya play games often, not wanting her daughter to be sucked into gaming, and instead encouraged her art. It was adorable the things she would draw and the fridge was covered in her art.

“Maggie is coming up,” Zelo muttered as he played the game. The sound of someone kicking the door soon came after and Kara scowled as she stood up to get the door. “She has drinks and pizza,” he added as he smelled the air.

“You couldn’t have told us before?” Alex asked as she took the game pad from him to pause the game and force him to socialize. She smiled as he grumbled at her in Malaaran and handed the controller to Lucy as the shorter agent began to attempt conversation with the teenage boy.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kara asked Maggie angrily as she opened the door. She had heard Anya make a discontent sound in her sleep when Maggie had kicked the door and she switched into Mama Mode instantly. She ignored the way Alex’s eyes had widened at the fact she cursed as she came over to take the beer and pizza from her girlfriend and continued to glare at the cop. “Anya is sleeping and there is only one other door in this damn place and that’s for the bathroom.”

Maggie blinked and raised her hands once they were empty in surrender. “I’m sorry I didn’t know,” she told the blonde as she walked past her to get inside. “I thought we were starting early so that she could see Zelo and play with him and Kaeki?”

“We had Friday Fun Day today,” Kaeki told them as she walked over to the kitchen to get a can of Coke from the fridge. “We were outside all day playing and I saw Anya running around a lot while I was reading. I didn’t really expect to see her running around. She knew I would be out there too it surprised me that she decided to play instead of talking to me.” There was disappointment in Kaeki’s voice but Kara didn’t have a chance to think about what she had said as a soft whimper came from the other side of the curtain. “Nightmare,” Kaeki murmured cryptically before she returned to Astra’s side.

Kara rushed to Anya as fast as she could without using her powers and gently picked up her daughter as she cried in her sleep. Something ached deep inside her as she clutched the small child too her as she slowly moved around the space. “Shhh, it’s okay,” she murmured before placing a kiss onto the side of her daughter’s head. “Mommy’s here.” Tiny hands grabbed onto her shirt and she continued to murmur softly to Anya. Thoughts of having Game Night being a mistake began to circle her mind and she pressed her lips to Anya’s hair. Worry filled her as her child’s grip tightened and she began to wonder what her daughter was dreaming about. Softly, Kara began to hum a Kryptonian lullaby as she sat on the bed and closed her eyes. Perhaps she should just make tonight just a movie night.

“Mommy,” Anya mumbled sleepily as she wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. Her eyes were still closed and tears rolled onto Kara’s neck as the woman held her child close. It was the first nightmare Anya had had while with Kara and she felt her heart ache inside her chest. Had she had nightmares before? Was this the first one? Perhaps later she would call the Kents and ask them but for now she would just be there for Anya. The tiny girl nuzzled her face into her mother’s neck and continued to cling to her until her breathing grew soft and steady signaling she was once again asleep.

Kara looked at the clock and pressed her lips against Anya’s head. She could hear the voices of her friends on the other side of the curtain and she knew she had to go back out there but she didn’t want to leave her daughter. She continued to hum and sit there on the bed with Anya in her arms until the curtain was pulled back slightly back as Astra walked over. The bed dipped as her aunt sat beside her and a hand rested on her back as she pressed her cheek to the side of her daughter’s head. They sat there not saying a single word to each other as Kara continued to hum softly and Kara fought back tears that stung her eyes just as they had been for weeks. It was so overwhelming, being a mother, and she didn’t allow herself to show how much it weighed in her. All she did was bottle it up and keep it hidden so she could be Anya’s protector, her rock. She had to be strong for her daughter but she had no idea how much longer she could hold it herself together.

“The others are growing concerned, little one,” Astra whispered as she pulled Kara to her side. “Alexandra told me about what happened in the hall and I have decided something which you will not argue about.” She paused so that Kara could nod in her agreement and she brushed back her niece’s blonde hair from in front of her eyes. “Every night you and Anya will come eat over at my apartment. At least until you can manage on your own. I understand you want to do things on your own but you have to do what’s best for her.”

Kara remained silent as she held Anya to her chest and leaned against her aunt. She stood and moved to the side of the bed to set her daughter down on the bed to sleep. However, Anya clung to her with a tight grip, refusing to be separated from her mother, and Kara sighed as she straightened up while placing a kiss on her child’s head. “Astra, can you hand me those headphones over there?” she asked as she shifted the tiny child in her arms into a better position. “Put those over Anya’s ears for me please.” She waited until Astra had placed the headphones over the tiny blonde’s ears before she headed over to the other side of the curtain to find that Lena had arrived. She smiled at the woman as she held Anya and Astra slipped around her back to the couch. “Hey, instead of playing games can we just watch movies?” Kara asked as she sat in a chair, shifting Anya so that the girl could sleep comfortably. “I’m sorry if people wanted to play games but I just feel like it might be better considering Anya won’t let go of me and she is asleep.”

The others looked at each other before Maggie spoke up. “Alex told us we might not be playing games today after you went to the other side of the curtain so we kinda already packed it all up. We have that rom-com you like a lot queued up already.”

Kara looked at the TV and used all her willpower to stop from gasping while she held her sleeping daughter. “We cannot watch _La La Land_ while Anya is asleep. I’ll sing along and wake her.” She smiled into her daughter’s head as they continued to talk, her worry over ruining the night vanishing as her friends happily accommodated for her. She felt guilty for making them change plans for her but she was so emotionally exhausted that she was glad they did. A good movie with her daughter in her lap asleep sounded perfect to her and she was glad she had a chance to do it.

They watched another movie instead of _La La Land_ and Kara ran her fingers through Anya’s hair the whole time. They started up a movie on Netflix and half way through it Anya began to wake up. She didn’t move or alert Kara of her consciousness, simply resting on her mother’s lap with her head against her chest. It wasn’t something she did often and something she knew she had never done in the past. Kara was hardly around when she was a baby and the heartbeat resonating inside the woman’s chest was a rare treat Anya loved more than anything. Her mother’s warmth, her safe and strong arms, her soothing voice, her calming heartbeat. All of it were things Anya wanted to experience every day of her life. And finally she could. Shifting closer to Kara, she alerted the Kryptonian that she was awake and the headphones slipped off her ears as her mother pressed her lips to her head.

“You have a good nap, sunshine?” Kara whispered to her daughter as she brushed back wild blonde hair. Alex glanced over at them and Kara smiled as she rubbed her thumb over Anya’s cheek. She ran her thumb over the trail of freckles and she held Anya to her. She would never let her daughter go, never leave her life again as long as she was alive. The little girl nodded and settled against her as she shifted so she could watch the movie too. “Do you want to go change and come back to walk the movie?” The little girl shook her head and Kara wrapped her arms securely around the tiny child.

“Can we watch _La La Land_ now?” Winn asked as he noticed Anya was awake. Everyone looked at him in confusion and he shrunk back against the couch he sat against as he shrugged. “I like musicals too, you know.”

Laughter filled the room and Maggie stood up from where she sat on Alex’s lap to go put the movie in. “Do you have anything for the kids to do together since Anya is up?” The detective looked at the Malaaran as he looked at her with annoyance and Kaeki lifted her head off Astra’s lap. Maggie looked at Anya expectantly but the tiny girl didn’t budge. “Maybe for later?”

Kara nodded with a smile and went back to running her fingers through her daughter’s hair. The fact Anya wanted to stay with her filled her chest with warmth. All her regrets faded away into the background when she held Anya like this. All her fears and worries faded into the back of her mind. This is what she had wanted since Anya was born. Since she handed her daughter over to the Kents with tears in her eyes. She rested her forehead against her daughter’s head and smiled as the tiny girl focused on the musical on the TV. She let her hearing stretch out over the city and took in the birds in the park and the singing at the karaoke bar. Then, voices caught her attention that were frightening close to the apartment building.

“Why is something that small supposed to be watched twenty-four seven? It doesn’t even look that dangerous,” a male voice said.

“ _It’s cause of the freak bitch_ ,” a horrifyingly familiar voice replied. Marcus. Marcus was there with whoever else was speaking. “ _I can’t believe I slept with that freak. If only I knew what she was then I would have probably tried to put her down._ ”

“ _At least we have a way to get to the kid though since you are the dad. She has that insane attachment to the invading bitch so perhaps she wants to know you too._ ”

“ _For CADMUS I could try to get close but Kara would never let me get close to the brat. She’s afraid of me though which I could use to CADMUS’ advantage._ ”

Kara felt sick to her stomach as she stopped listening to the two men. Marcus worked for CADMUS. They were trying to get to Anya. Without warning, she stood abruptly, handing Anya over to Lena who was closest to her, and bolted to the bathroom. The content of her stomach emptied from her throat and she hardly got her hair pulled back before her stomach emptied. Her baby girl was being targeted and she had no idea if she could stand up to Marcus if he came for her. Tears filled her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands before a sob tore from her sore throat. She sat back on the tile floor as hot tears ran down her cheeks and the coolness of the wall seeped through the thin shirt she wore. There was a knock on the door and Kara hardly registered Alex’s voice. She hardly registered the door opening before closing once more or Alex’s arms wrapping around her. All she could think of was how her trauma could keep her from protecting her baby. Her sunshine. The only thing keeping her going. Her Anya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the main important thing in this chapter is we know one of the villains now or well organization. Yes I said one of. The main antagonist isn't actually any of the villains, in case anyone is wondering. The story is about the characters overcoming the issues and trauma of the past that still haunt them and yes there will be a main physical villain/group but mostly the antagonist is the shadows within the past. That being said, Marcus is part of CADMUS which is going to be that main group that the DEO and Kara will be up against when it comes to action stuff though this story is mostly mental and emotional based. I like this chapter despite how short it seems to me and how uneventful it is because I like writing the bond between Kara and her family. Alex, Astra, and Anya have an incredibly strong bond with Kara and I love writing it so much and I hope it shows. I love how Astra is also trying to take a motherly role with Kara because in the show I felt that Astra wanted to be like a mother to Kara in a way and I like the idea that Astra does try to take that role with Kara because they really are all they have left. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you continue to read my fics, not just this one if any of you read my other stuff. I'm going to be working on my fics on my other account so this fic might not be updated for a while just a warning. Anyway, please leave comments, feedback, and kudos. Thank you for reading I love you all ^^


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, friends, sorry it took so long. I just started a job and I work ten hours a day plus Splatoon 2 came out which is one of my fav games and I just had a convention that was four days and I was there all day. I wanted to make it up though so I got some insight into the past of some characters and their pasts. We are starting to really get into the core of this story which is about how the past stays with us and how much of a struggle it is to get past it. We are going to see some more Lena especially from here on out. I will have to warn that this is a slow burn and a very angsty fic so don't expect lots of fluff there's going to be quite a lot of angst for them along with all the other angst in the fic. But for all those craving some supercorp moments they are on the way. I hope you enjoy this and I have no idea when I'll get out another chapter but hopefully it won't be too long. Please leave comments, feedback, and kudos ^^

“We need to protect Anya.” Kara’s words held a hint of her fear as she spoke to J’onn in one of the conference rooms. Alex sat in a strategic place where she could give Kara a look if needed and still see the look on her boss’s face. Astra sat towards the middle of the table on the side closest to the door with her head in her hands deep in thought. Hearing that CADMUS had been following Anya had shaken her for some reason and Kara wondered if it was because of Anya at all. “Whatever CADMUS is up to, I doubt it’s good.”

J’onn had his arms crossed over his chest and he frowned as creases formed between his brows from being deep in thought. “I have no idea what you want me to do, Miss Danvers. Do you want me to put a team on her? She already has the Twilae girl with her almost all the time. You are her mother and she has powers like yours. I have no idea what I could do to offer her more protection.”

“Kaeki cannot be added into this equation,” Astra practically growled. It startled Kara how protective Astra sounded, almost parental in nature. “She was held by CADMUS I do not want to risk her falling back into their clutches.”

Kara glanced at her phone for the fifth time that day, looking at the texts from Lucy who was watching the two girls back at Astra’s.  As soon as she recovered from what she had heard the night before, the blonde had pulled aside her sister, aunt, and friend to talk about it. Lucy had offered to babysit more so she could watch them which helped Kara relax a bit knowing that Lucy was one of the best agents at the DEO. Alex and Astra grew concerned over the assumption that CADMUS would probably know that two of the aliens they believed they had killed and dumped were actually alive, Astra especially. Both Kryptonians had wanted to tell J’onn as soon as possible but Alex had talked them out of doing so, reasoning that taking time to calm down over the situation would be the best course of action. Apparently, Astra did not calm down in that span of time, seeming to have actually grown more anxious than calm. Kara was actually Anya’s mother who was being watched and she didn’t even seem as anxious as the older woman. Was she? Of course, her daughter was in danger and she felt like she was about to scream or something. Her mind was buzzing as she checked her phone, not hearing her sister say her name for the fifth time.

“Kara!”

“Yes?” she asked snapping her head up away from the screen of her phone to look at her sister. Alex gave her a look and slowly the blonde sank into the chair next to her, her phone clattering onto the table. Suddenly the fact that people were after her daughter, that Anya was in danger, hit her hard and everything felt numb. “I’m just so worried and I don’t know what to do,” she confessed in a fragile voice. Her daughter was her whole world, the only thing that could hold her together when everything was going wrong. If she lost Anya, what would happen to her?

“It’s not just Anya at risk here,” Astra snapped as she slammed her hands down on the table. “Kaeki is always there at Anya’s side, she’s in just as much danger as her.” Rage filled Astra’s eyes and fear flickered across her face. Kara had known her aunt was found of Kaeki having known her from one of her off-world missions but this was too much. Kaeki was just a girl Astra guarded for a while. “I won’t let Kaeki get hurt. I have a promise to keep.” Astra glanced at Kara and instantly softened seeing the tears filling blue eyes. “Little one, do not worry,” she said, her voice softer than before so that she could soothe her niece. “We will protect them both.”

Kara nodded as she looked at her phone as if vibrated on the table. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she looked at the picture of her daughter laughing with Lucy that the woman had just sent her. “J’onn, please can you do something? I can’t always be with her and we can’t leave two children left unprotected while they attend school. Just because they have powers doesn’t mean they should be left to defend themselves. They’re still children.” J’onn sighed and Kara could tell he was about to tell her they couldn’t put a team on them. Rage filled her as J’onn began to say just what she fears she would say and she stood up abruptly, her chair falling over as her rage covered her face. “My daughter is in danger! My daughter who is only six years old. I work so hard to keep this city safe for her and I work so hard to help the DEO, the least you can do is put two or three agents on a team to protect her.” Her hands clenched into fists at her side, her knuckles white as her nails dug into her palms. “Please, I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her.”

The room became silent as tears fell from Kara’s eyes and her fear was palpable. J’onn sighed as he rubbed his face before giving a stiff nod. “I’ll put three agents on her. And I’ll allow Astra to have those Kryptonite bracelets removed as well. I can talk to you tomorrow about who I will put into that team to monitor your daughter.” He gave her a small smile as he motioned for Alex to come with him. “Come see me later about those bracelets, Astra,” he told the older woman before leaving with Alex.

Kara took a shaky breath as she realized how much easier it had been than she thought to get that team on Anya. It was a personal request when there were other dangers those agents could be focused on. Plus, her aunt would be able to have her powers outside of the DEO. Relief filled her as she looked at her aunt who was still seething in her seat. “Why are you so angry, Aunt Astra?” She fixed the chair so she could sit and reached out her hand for her aunt to take. “Are you worried about Anya?” As soon as she said her daughter’s name, she realized she was projecting herself onto Astra and regretted it as the brunette scowled.

“I’m worried about Kaeki,” Astra corrected. She sighed and leaned back in her chair as she closed her eyes. Kara’s brows furrowed as she studied her aunt and pursed her lips as the woman burrowed her fingers into brown curls. “I have not been completely open about my history with the child under my care,” Astra confessed slowly as if hesitant to say what she was about to. “I told you I was on Shadwe to end a war and originally that’s what I was doing. We were aiding the Twilae due to the fact they were vastly underdeveloped compared to the ones waging war on them, the Lunix. Originally, I was helping evacuate villages and provide aid. I met a woman, the most beautiful woman, and things developed.” Astra opened her eyes and there was a nostalgia to her eyes, full of longing and haunted. “She was Kaeki’s mother.”

Kara’s eyes widened and it all made sense. Kaeki was like a daughter to Astra just as she was. The whole reason those two knew each other was because Astra had been involved with the Twilae’s mother. Suddenly, Kara wanted to know more about Astra’s time on this planet. It was one she never heard about as a child and she felt that childlike curiosity fill her up as she tilted her head and looked at the older woman. “What was her name?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Astra’s lips as memories returned to her. “Sinopa. She was a healer, the best her people had. Her husband, though, wasn’t a very good person to her. The best thing he did was father her three children. I wanted to take her and her daughters with me when I left but she couldn’t leave her people.” A small sigh passed her lips as she stood and leaned against the table, looking at the ground as she scratched lightly at her sleeve with her arms crossed. “I had wanted to go back to see her but I was sentenced to Fort Rozz before I could.”

“Have you asked Kaeki about how she is?” Kara asked.

Astra shook her head and looked at her niece. “I’m too afraid. What if she was killed? What if she was taken like Kaeki if she even made it off Shadwe?” She shook her head and stepped away from the table. “I feel that it’s better that I don’t know. Whatever I hear will either break my heart or lead me to becoming obsessed with finding her. I rather just be there for Kaeki while I can.” She smiled at Kara and glanced at the phone on the table as it vibrated. “You should go home and be with your daughter. I have things to do here. And take the car, I want to fly home.”

Kara stood and grabbed her phone as she walked over to her aunt. “Thank you. I love you.” Kara smiled as she hugged the older woman, a kiss placed on the side of her head, and she headed towards the parking garage. Her mind was focused on Anya, scrolling through the pictures Lucy had sent her, and she smiled at the thought of returning to her child. After grabbing some chicken from a fast food place on the way and grabbing the mail, Kara walked up the stairs only to freeze at the sight of Lena. Last night, Kara had practically thrown everyone out after she told Lucy, Astra, and Alex what she had heard. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later when Anya was safe in their bed asleep that she felt regret over sending all her friends away like she did. The flash of concern that had been on the Luthor’s face hadn't left her mind either. She put a smile on her face and continued over to her door, giving a little wave when Lena noticed her. “Lena, hey, what are you doing here?”

Lena followed the blonde as she opened the door, blinking slightly in surprise to see Lucy with the girls inside. “I was worried about you, you seemed distraught last night. Is everything okay?” She set her bag down just before a tiny mass latched onto her and Kara laughed at how the force almost knocked the CEO over.

“I'm fine,” Kara told her, unsure herself if that was a lie or not. She picked up her daughter as Kaeki and Lucy came over and pressed a kiss into Anya’s cheek. “Sorry about how I practically threw all of you out. There was a thing that came up and stuff.” Kara cringed at her own words as she set Anya down on the table to hand her her food. “Do you have to go or can you stay for a while?” She hadn't had much time to do things with Lena and with the plan to start dating once she was ready still in place she felt bad for not having the time for the woman. The fact she still wasn't ready also made her feel bad because she was making Lena wait. Wait for a woman who was coming apart with a six year old daughter she had after she was raped. Why did Lena want to wait to date her? Why did she want to date her at all?

“I can stay,” Lena told her as she watched Anya eat her chicken. “My schedule is free for the rest of the day and I rather spend my day here than with some old men who don't think I can run my company.”

“Men suck,” Lucy commented as she sat down on a stool. “Girls, never interact with boys they are gross and smelly.”

Anya giggled and handed a piece of chicken to Kaeki before a thoughtful look appeared on her face. “Mommy, is Daddy smelly?” Kara’s heart dropped at the question and she must have shown how much the question affected her on her face because Anya frowned. Kara knew Anya would grow curious, especially after she started school, but she didn't realize that it would be so hard to even make something up to tell her daughter.

“I heard he was the smelliest,” Lena told the curious child, rescuing Kara from having to answer. It didn't seem to appease Anya because she continued to look at her mother as the blonde tried to keep herself together. Marcus was her biggest weakness outside of Anya being in danger and of course Kryptonite, her biggest fear besides losing her daughter, and that fact was growing more and more obvious. The brunette glanced at Kara with a flicker of concern before she reached over to Anya’s face to brush back blonde hair. “Can you go pick out something for me to color?”

Anya nodded and grabbed the bag of food before hopping off the table to go to her coloring books with Kaeki. Lucy and Lena both looked at the blonde with their worry clear in their eyes. “Stop looking at me like that, you two,” Kara sighed as she put her head in her hands. “I just don’t know how to talk to her about her father. She’s still curious despite the fact I’ve told her he is a bad person.” She sighed as she thought about the things she had heard in the office about how nice Marcus was, how funny he was, how everything positive he was when she knew what he could do. Her skin crawled at the thought of him and she glanced over at her daughter as she flipped through her coloring books. “I don’t want her to experience anything bad. She already witnessed what Mon-El did and that’s more than I want her to see. Even when I’m Supergirl she doesn’t know that I’m in as much danger as I am. She just sees the good stuff on the news, the Kents made sure of that. I’ve never even yelled at her before. I don’t want to tell her that her father is a rapist and that I never wanted her until I first heard her heart beat. Oh Rao, what am I going to do?”

Lena frowned and looked at Kara with concern as the blonde put her head in her hands. “Is that why you sent everyone home last night?”

Kara thought back to the previous night and a sick feeling settled into her stomach. She shook her head despite Anya’s father being part of the reason. In all honesty, it was the fact Anya was in danger that caused her to send everyone away. The fact that her whole world, her daughter, was at risk made it too difficult to do anything but panic. “I heard something that got to me and that's why I sent you all home. I wanted to be with Anya to keep her safe.” Before either woman could respond, her phone went off, the vibration startling the blonde as she pulled it out to look at the caller ID. It wasn't a number she knew but she answered the phone anyway. “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Kara Danvers?” a woman’s voice asked. The low drone of a television from the other end reached Kara’s ears and she could barely make out that it was a kid’s show.

“Yes, who is this?” she replied as she sorted through her mail while Lena and Lucy whispered to each other wondering who was calling her. She frowned at the sight of bills that she knew she would struggle to pay and glanced over at her daughter wishing she was a better parent.

“This is Mandy Morrison, I’m Maddy’s mom,” the woman, Mandy, replied. A sense of dread settled in the pit of Kara’s stomach as she dropped the envelope she was holding and hesitantly placed her free hand on the table in front of her. “I’m glad I got the right number I had to go through the grapevine to find you. You don’t seem to have interacted with any of the other parents so it was difficult.”

Kara felt guilt mingle with her dread at how absent she was in Anya’s school life. She was finding it difficult to balance her life as Supergirl, her life at CatCo, and her life as a single mother. It was all becoming too much and she didn’t need the wife of her rapist calling her. “Yeah, I know, I just am really busy with work and we carpool with my aunt and her daughter so I don’t generally pick her up.” The term for Kaeki came out unsure and the pale girl glanced over out of the corner of her eye at the word. As usual, she couldn’t read the expression on the Twilae’s face as she watched her daughter and friend look through coloring books. “Did you need something? I’m assuming you didn’t call just to chat.”

A hum came from the other end and it made Kara fidget with a piece of mail as she waited for the woman to speak. “My daughter has been talking nonstop about yours and so I was wondering if we could schedule a playdate for them. Would Anya be interested?”

Kara felt as though she couldn’t breathe. One of the other two watching her must have noticed because a hand she hardly registered rested on her arm as she tried to compose herself enough to speak. “Um, I would have to check my schedule and see if Anya would be interested. I can get back to you I have to go now.” She abruptly hung up before Mandy could reply and she sank into the nearest stool as she focused on breathing. She looked at the hand on her arm and realized it was Lena’s and she gave a weak, thankful smile. “Thank you,” she said as she glanced at Anya. “I’m okay now.”  
Lucy took a breath to ask what the call was about but her phone rang inside of her pocket and she pulled it out to answer. As she walked away to take the call, Lena slid her hand down to take Kara’s hand and began to rub the back of the blonde’s hand soothingly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem rattled.”

A shaky sigh escaped her throat as she just looked at their joined hands. “It’s nothing to be worried over just some stuff from my past that I rather not have coming into my life.” The look on Lena’s face made her want to tell her everything, how Marcus was married with a daughter of his own that was in Anya’s class, how work exhausted her emotionally because he was always there even though she was mostly working with her cousin, how it was tiring that she knew what was really going on but could never write about it like with the murder article she is on is actually CADMUS dumping the bodies of failed experiments. But she remained silent despite the worried look on the brunette’s face and just forced herself to smile as Anya and Kaeki returned over to them. Her daughter climbed onto her lap and she felt herself begin to calm down as she watched and listened to the small child talk about the picture she picked out for Lena to draw as she handed over the colors she recommended for coloring. She pressed her lips into the back of the child’s head as she wrapped her arms around the small body. “Did you get something for you or Kaeki to draw?”

Anya shook her head as Kaeki climbed onto the stool next to the mother and daughter and crossed her arms over the table to rest her head on. “Kaeki didn’t want to color,” she answered as she leaned back against her mother. “Do you want to color, Mommy?” Kara shook her head before pressing her cheek against her daughter’s head. Small hands wrapped around Kara’s as Anya leaned onto her mother’s cheek, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Mommy, how did you and Miss Leelee meet?”

Kara looked at Lena to find green looking right back at her. A smile formed on the blonde’s lips as she kept her eyes on the Luthor, memories playing out in her mind of when she went to see Lena with her cousin. “Well, there was this spaceship that someone attacked and Miss Lena was supposed to be on it. Thankfully she wasn’t though and so me and Uncle Clark went to go ask her questions about why she wasn’t on the rocket. We thought at first she attacked it but then we found out that she didn’t. But as soon as I saw her I knew that she couldn’t have done that attack. I could see it in her eyes.” The smile on her lips grew as Lena blushed and looked down at her lap, a small smile on her lips.

“Why did you and Uncle Clark think Miss Leelee attacked the rocket?” Anya asked as she twisted in her mother’s grasp to rest her head against her chest, listening to the heart within it. When the beating sped up she glanced up at her mother and tilted her head in a way that made Kara want to hold her adorable child close and never let go.

A sigh almost left Kara’s lips as she gave a small, half-hearted smile to Anya. “Well, neither of us had ever met Miss Lena but Uncle Clark knew her brother, Lex, who was a bad man and so we assumed she was like him.” Kara looked away from her daughter and back at Lena as she looked at the woman she and her cousin had suspected was just like Lex. They had been so far from the truth and everyday Kara was more and more grateful they had been wrong. “But she isn't like her brother,” she continued smiling at the woman across from her. “She's kind and loyal and the most giving person I've ever met. She's nothing like her brother. Well, other than being a genius.”

Anya turned again to watch the Luthor finished up numbering the spaces to color in their respective color and Kara could almost hear the next question forming on her daughter’s lips. Dread filled her as she knew it would be about Marcus, the small child's curiosity of her father growing more and more each day since Anya came to live with her.

“Is Daddy a bad man like Miss Leelee’s brother?”

Kara struggled to keep her body from shaking, from breaking down at the thoughts and memories that filled her mind at the mention of Marcus. She didn't want to lie to her daughter but she didn't want to tell her how her father hated aliens and wanted them gone. She had no idea what to say as she struggled just to keep herself from falling apart from the uncertainty of how to handle the situation. Luckily, Lena noticed the way Kara was starting to fall apart and cleared her throat, stealing the attention away from Kara. “Kaeki, why don't you want to draw?”

“I rather watch than do,” she told her as she watched Lena begin to color in the picture according to how Anya instructed and the numbers she wrote in. Kara looked at the Twilae, thankful for the distraction Lena created, and studied her for a moment. The unsettled feeling she got whenever she was around was still there but now relief also accompanied it. Kaeki was always there for Anya and had become her best friend. White eyes flashed over to her and Kara looked back at the coloring sheet.  “Shouldn't you be more preoccupied with why Agent Lane is speaking so rapidly and in such short responses?”

At Kaeki’s words, they all looked at the agent talking rapidly on the phone with panic in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll be over there in five. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll bring them. M’kay. M’kay. Bye.” Lucy looked at Kara dead in the eyes and dread filled her entire being at the message she could see in her green eyes. Something was horribly wrong and she would not like what it was. “We need to go to the DEO. Like right now.”

Kara looked at Lena and pursed her lips as she stood up, holding Anya. “Can you text my aunt on my phone telling her we are bringing Kaeki with us?” she asked Lena as she nodded her head to the device on the table. The Luthor nodded and the Kryptonian moved to go get Anya’s bag of things to keep her occupied. “Lena, come with us.” Lucy gave her a look as she slipped Anya’s bag onto her shoulders with one hand. “She knows, Lucy, so she might as well come along. She came all this way to see me anyway.”

“J’onn and Alex are going to kill you,” Lucy warned her as she opened the door for them. “I’m betting Alex with yell loudest.” She took out her copy of the keys to the apartment and locked the door before following the blonde to the car. “Though, neither of them will notice after what happened.”

Kara’s steps faltered at Lucy’s words and at what they might mean. The grip Anya had on her tightened as if she could sense her mother’s fear and dread and the older blonde pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head. “I can take them scolding me but first we need to take care of whatever happened.” She glanced at Lena and noticed the younger woman fingering the hem of her dark green shirt. She was nervous and Kara couldn’t help but find it adorable. She was about to see the entirety of Kara’s life and it was obvious she was nervous about messing up. When green eyes met hers she gave a smile as she pulled out the keys to her aunt’s car.

After everyone climbed into the car and got secure, Lucy’s phone rang again and the car ride was filled with one side of a conversation. “Lane. Yes, we’re on our way. Yes, the children are with us. Okay, I’ll have them go to Alex’s lab. It was who? Him? No. No. No. I’ll tell her. Yes. We have Lena Luthor with us. Yes. Kind of. M’kay. Okay. ‘Kay. Yes. No need to tell me that. I know. I know. Yes. Okay. Bye.” The older woman gave a small chuckle as she glanced over at Kara while the Kryptonian drove. “You’re in deep shi- shiitake mushrooms. Yup, your sister is going to get a whole bunch and bury you in it,” Lucy said, stopping herself from cursing in front of the two children in the back when Kara gave her a look.

“I can leave if it’s an issue,” Lena said as she ran her fingers absentmindedly through Anya’s hair. “I can take the children to a park or something.”

Kara shook her head and made a turn as she glanced back at the brunette in the back seat. “No, you don’t need to leave. I want you to see this. If Alex’s girlfriend and James can see the DEO even though they don’t work there, then you can too.” She readjusted her grip on the steering wheel as she hoped that she wouldn’t be in too much trouble. She needed to request a paycheck after all these new expenses. Already she had gotten letters from Anya’s class about bake sales and class pets and special lunches that comes from different fast food places every Friday. At this rate, she would have to cut back more on food or depend more on her aunt. She didn’t want to do either of those things but she doubted she had a choice if she didn’t get on the DEO’s payroll. With a silent sigh, Kara parked and turned off the engine, the sight of her sister scowling at her in front of her.

Alex walked over to the back door of the car and opened it as the two women in the front climbed out of the car. “Hey, bunny,” Alex greeted Anya as she got her out of her seat and into her arms. “I am going to need you and Kaeki to go hang out with Zelo in my lab, can you do that?” The small girl nodded as her aunt set her down and Alex glanced quickly at Kara for a moment before looking at Kaeki. “Kaeki, go with Anya to my lab. Agent Vasquez and Maggie are there to watch over you three.” She waited as the two girls left, Kaeki glancing around in a way that reminded Kara of how Alex acted when she was in a new place, paranoid and plotting how she would handle anything that might happen. Now the agent turned, her eyes full of panic and worry. “Kara, something was stolen from DEO records. It was Agent Lowry, he was working with CADMUS. Kara, he stole Anya’s medical files.”

Kara’s whole body tensed and she barely managed to rein in her heat vision before she destroyed a few cars. CADMUS was beginning to get on her nerves. Go after her, that’s fine, but go after her daughter, no one threatens the safety of her daughter. Then, alarms began to go off inside of her mind as she thought about the last name of the agent. “Wait a minute, is he related or married or anything to Anya’s teacher?”

Alex shook her head and began to head inside with the others following. She hardly noticed Lena walking hesitantly along, pulled gently by Kara’s hand, and she replied, “That was the first thing I had Winn check after we found him hacking the system. They have no connection at all. Winn’s trying to see if he left a virus or something to steal more information but he hasn’t found anything yet. J’onn is with Lowry trying to get information out of him but he seems to be immune to his powers.”

Kara didn’t know how to feel about this anymore. Anger? Fear? Panic? She didn’t know and it made her wonder how best to keep her daughter safe. Were there more double agents in the DEO? Was her daughter safe anywhere? All she wanted was to live happily with her daughter but with this and her financial issues it was growing more and more into something she didn’t know if she could have. No matter how many happy moments they had, the problems Kara knew existed always were there under the surface. “Can Lena help Winn? He could use some help considering of how Lowry was able to hack into the DEO and get those files which are completely restricted except for you and me. I can go through the building and look for any bugs or anything that doesn’t belong.” Alex hesitated before nodding and Kara headed off with Lena, still holding her hand, with a feeling of anger and dread bubbling up from her very core.

 

Anya sat on her aunt’s office chair as she watched Zelo play on his tablet. She was too curious about what was going on to color so she has settled for sitting to watch the older boy as Kaeki played with her hair. A different curiosity grew inside of her as she watched the Malaaran as her best friend twisted her hair into an intricate braid. “Zelo, what were you like on your planet?”

The boy looked up from his game to study the small blonde, one of his small cat-like ears twitching. “It’s not important,” he replied as he glanced over at the two adults talking on the other side of the room. “It’s in the past.”

Anya pouted and Kaeki pursed her lips. She rarely showed emotion around the adults, excluding Astra, but she would let her mask fall around the other two she had grown attached to. “Oh, Zelo, can’t you at least indulge her? I can tell it is something you keep secret but we will not tell. I will answer a question _Vaea_ inquires if you answer hers.”

Zelo narrowed his eyes at Kaeki as he considered what she said. “Fine,” he said, giving in, “I’ll tell you. I was spoiled and arrogant. I was the second born son of the king of the aquatic kingdoms on Mal. I thought I was the best fighter on my planet but I was wrong.” His tail flicked as he shifted his gaze between the two girls and then glanced back at his game. “That’s all I’m saying. You better not tell anyone I’m a prince, I rather just be just another refugee or normal alien boy on this planet.”

Kaeki hummed almost disapprovingly as she continued to braid Anya’s hair and the blonde girl looked at her older friend as he played his game. She wondered why a prince would be a refugee rather than on his planet. What happened that made him come here? She felt like it would be a bother to ask him another question when he didn’t want to answer the first and so she let the questions forming in her head float around. One concept seemed to take over most of her thoughts and she couldn’t help but voice it. “Do you know your fathers?”

The two older children glanced at each other, having already gathered that the topic was extremely sensitive. Kaeki cleared her throat, saving Zelo from having to answer yet another one of Anya’s questions, and the emotionless mask she usually wore slipped into place. “My father is dead. He died a year after Astra left and soon before my people were defeated in the war that ravaged the planet.”

“Did he die fighting?”

Kaeki’s fingers faltered and she began to undo the braid with slightly shaky hands. “No, _Vaea_ , he did not nor did he die from age. My people live for countless years, close to what the people of this world consider immortals. In order to pass, one must become ill or die in combat. But, there is one who is honored with the duty of sending others into the peaceful rest that they desire. That is how my father passed.” She could almost sense the question forming on Anya’s lips, the words wondering how she knew or if she saw, as she began the braid again, her hands steady once more. “I should know, after all, I was the one who killed him just as I had many others before him.”

Anya watched as Zelo glanced at Kaeki for a moment before looking back at his game and she wondered why Kaeki was the one who was giving the job of killing her people so they could die. Why didn’t they kill themselves? Why couldn’t they die like people did on Earth? Perhaps her mother would know. Or Aunt ‘Stra. She closed her eyes and focused on the memory of her mother’s heart, the steady beat that she had memorized long ago to keep her close when she had to leave. For a moment, the sound wasn’t a memory but her mother’s heart beat in that moment. It was frantic, fast rather than the usual steady beat that would lull her to sleep at night. But it was still her mother’s heart and she tried to hone in on it but her ears failed her, returning to their non-super hearing. She focused more and tried again, using her time in her aunt’s lab to train her powers so that she could be like her mother one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Astra tells Kara more about her time on Shadwe, Kara is having trouble handling Anya's curiosity about her father, and Anya learns more about her friends. So, I really enjoy planning out the history between Astra and Kaeki. Kaeki was one of my first original characters and I love the version I came up with for this because she makes the perfect best friend for Anya and the perfect adoptive daughter for Astra. I feel like Astra is a very protective person and the fact Kara is grown up and can protect herself left her a bit unsure of what to do with herself, hence why she joined the DEO when given the opportunity. When Kaeki came back into her life, I feel like it gave her someone to protect again which we see a lot of that protectiveness come out in the start of the chapter. In regards to Kara and how she is handling everything, I find that she is growing more and more unstable which leads her to cling more to Anya. I enjoy writing those two a lot since they both find comfort in each other and their relationship just makes me so happy. But for Kara Anya is also a source of anxiety. Anxiety over whether or not Anya will find out about what happened to result in her being born, about failing as a mother, about how she seems to be failing to support the both of them without help. In my opinion, Kara doesn't seem the type to want to receive aid from others, hence why she doesn't ask for a raise or to be on the DEO's payroll until she absolutely has too and why she has to be told by her aunt that she and Anya will come over for meals rather than Astra asking. This is going to be a source of conflict later and will really bring to light some issues. I am again very sorry for how long this update took but I hope you enjoy it. Look forward to some more Lena, Zelo, some surprise romance sparking with a secret pairing, some moments with Kara and Lena, lots of cute Anya, and some of the children trio moments. Please leave comments, feedback, and kudos. I love you all.


	12. Chapter Twelve

“I need to send what with Anya?” Kara glanced at her daughter spinning in one of the lab chairs at the DEO as she spoke to the girl’s first grade teacher on the phone. “No, she did not tell me about that other than telling me there was one coming up. I will make sure that I bring in those cookies tomorrow. Yes. No, no I’m sorry. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.” A sigh left her lips as she hung up and she closed her eyes as she removed her glasses as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Rao, grant me strength.”

“Mommy,” Anya murmured softly as she pulled her little legs up to her chest, the chair still as it faced her. “Are you mad I didn’t tell you about the party?” The little girl had her eyes cast down at the ground as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked guilty and even though she was, Kara felt her heart melt at the sight.

“Oh, baby, no I’m not mad. I wish you had told me about it, though,” Kara assured her as she sat in a spare chair. “I am confused why you wouldn’t tell me about this ‘Start of School’ party for the parents and students your class is having.” It wasn’t like Anya not to tell her things. She would tell her everything whenever she got to see the little girl. She told her about the powers that were coming in, when the Kents let her have dessert before dinner, everything. Yes, there were things that were kept from her like the x-ray vision that worsened her shyness, but even then that was rare. This was different though. This was a party her class was having. It didn’t make sense to her at all. “Anya, sunshine, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

There was a moment of silence as Kara watched her daughter, shifting in her seat as the six year old climbed onto her lap, and wrapped her arms protectively around the girl. “I thought you would be too busy to come,” Anya told her with her face buried in Kara’s chest. The chest that felt a tightening pain inside of it at the words. “And I didn’t know if you would want to buy cookies.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’ll always make time for you,” Kara told her as she ran her fingers through her child’s hair. She pressed her lips to blonde hair and closed her eyes. “From now on, I’m going to be making more time for you, how does that sound? I’ll make sure to drop you off and pick you up every day and I’ll help you with all your homework.” Doing that meant she would have to ask for less hours at Catco, meaning less pay. It was clear she had to ask J’onn to be on the DEO payroll. “Let me talk to my boss really quick about grown up things, so why don’t we find your Aunt Lexie to watch you before we go pick up those cookies at the story and then watch a bunch of movies.”

“Can Leelee come over and watch the movies?” Anya asked as Kara stood up, holding Anya in her arms. Her little fingers grabbed onto the necklace around her neck and twisted it as she examined it. Ever since Kara had told Anya about the fact it was her grandmother’s, that it was Alura’s, she had been fascinated with it. “And can we have Chinese food?”

Kara spotted her sister with another agent as she shook her head. “Leelee had to go out of town for a bit so she can’t come over but I’ll be sure to get you some Chinese food.” Alex turned at the sound of her voice and she glanced down at her daughter before letting out a soft sigh. “Can you watch her for a moment? I need to talk to J’onn.”

“Of course, I can watch my favorite little bunny,” Alex said as Kara handed off Anya, the other agent smiling at the little girl. “Are you finally taking my advice?”

Kara sighed and nodded. In actuality, she would just ask for enough to cover what she would be losing from Catco and a little extra to make sure she got food on the table for Anya. Otherwise, she didn’t want to be paid for being Supergirl. It wasn’t a job to her, it was part of who she was. She didn’t want to be paid for being herself. “I’ll be back,” she told Anya, kissing the top of her head one last time before going to track down the Martian. It wasn’t hard to find him as he was scolding Winn for playing video games again at work and Kara stood off to the side on her phone as her friend looked sheepishly at the ground.

“Kara,” J’onn said, startling Kara into almost dropping her phone. “I thought you would have gone home by now with your little one. Is there something you need?”

The blonde nodded, reluctant to ask for help still despite needing it. “I need to get on the DEO’s payroll. I need to cut back my hours at Catco so I need to make up the income. I don’t want much, I’ll get a number for you and that’s all I want. I just want to be able to spend more time with my daughter.” She kept the fact that she didn’t want to be paid for being Supergirl to herself, along with the fact she wasn’t going to ask much more than what she and Anya needed to get by. If she did, she knew he would try to sneak more money into the paycheck than she wanted. She would figure something out that didn’t require her getting payed for being Supergirl.

J’onn scratched at his chin and nodded. “That sounds doable,” he replied. “Talk to Pam and we will get it sorted out.” Someone called him and he put a hand on the Kryptonian’s shoulder to give it a squeeze. “Have fun with your daughter.”

She smiled and nodded as he walked away as she noticed Winn watching her. There was a question on his face and she knew immediately he wanted to go with her. Ever since Anya moved in she had less time to hang out with anyone other than Lena or Lucy, excluding Astra and Alex from the list. “Wanna come pick out cookies?” Kara asked the man who immediately logged out of his computer to leave with the blonde. The blonde laughed and started walking towards where Alex was probably waiting. “If you want to watch some movies, Anya might let you join us.” The fact Kara wanted Anya to see her friends as family just as she herself did was not one she had spent much time working on. The most Anya saw was Lucy, Alex, Astra, and Lena. Winn and J’onn came second and James was someone Anya hardly saw. Hopefully, as their lives got more stable they would be able to socialize more.

“Mommy!” Anya exclaimed when Kara came into view. She was floating in the air at eye level with Alex and a smile formed on her lips before slowly shifting into surprise. In the blink of an eye, Kara was in front of Alex with her daughter in her arms and both of their hearts were pounding. “Mommy, I feel funny.” She set her daughter on the ground and checked her over, x-ray vision and all. “Am I okay?”

Alex knelt down as Winn came over and Kara looked at her sister. “Pinch her,” she said as she wondered if what she was thinking was correct. Was this Anya’s first solar flare? It might be easier for her to lose her powers due to her age and the fact she was half human. But still, simply flying is all it takes to make her powerless? Alex looked at her confused before understanding what she was trying to do and giving her niece a little pinch. The little girl winced in discomfort and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. Kara rubbed at her back before lifting her up and placing a kiss on her temple. “You’re okay, baby, you just lost your powers. It happens to me too. This just means that you are more human than usual and you can get hurt and sick.”

“But you’ll be back to your special little self real soon,” Alex added as she rubbed Anya’s arm. “Maybe you can talk your mom into getting you some yummy treats.”

“And we can play any game you want,” Winn added alerting Anya to his presence. The little girl buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and the man frowned. “One day we’ll get past the shyness,” he mumbled sadly under his breath.

Kara motioned with her head for Winn to follow as she waved at her sister. “We have to go get cookies, but thank you for watching her. We can go to the park tomorrow for some sun which should help my little sunshine get her powers back.” With one hand, Kara tickled her daughter’s side causing the child to erupt into giggles. “You can pick out any box of cookies you want for home and I’ll get the best cookies ever for your class,” she told Anya as she began walking, setting her child down as they left the DEO with Winn falling in step next to Kara.

“I want to pick out the cookies,” Anya told her as she took her mother’s hand. She skipped along as they walked down the sidewalk, Astra using the car leaving them to walk, and Kara couldn’t help but smile. This is all she had ever wanted since having her daughter. To be a family. Seeing her smile and be her bright, beautiful self was more than she could have ever asked for. “Can Mr. Winn pick something out too?”

The question caught both adults off guard as they glanced at each other, Kara pulling Anya closer to avoid having the little blonde stepped on by an oblivious pedestrian. “Of course he can pick something out,” she told the little blonde. “But he is buying it himself.” It was meant as a joke, but no one laughed. Both adults knew the financial situation she was in. A single income single mom where both of them ate three times the amount as normal people and Anya attended an expensive school that expected fees and payments for various things.

“Why don’t I buy dinner too?” Winn asked, trying to help. “I’ll get as much as you want of whatever you want. How does that sound, Anya?” The small girl jumped in excitement at the prospect of lots of food but Kara gave him a look that caused his steps to falter and his smile to fade. It was too late to take back the offer but he knew how much she hated charity.

They entered the little market a few blocks from Kara’s apartment and as soon as the blonde grabbed a cart Anya slid between her mother and the cart to stand on the bars, Kara keeping the cart from tilting under the six year old’s weight as she headed over to the bakery. “So, what kind of cookies do you want? We’ll get a big pack for the class but pick out what you want.”

Her daughter hopped down and rushed over to the tables of baked goods. Winn wandered off to look at the selection as Kara grabbed a big box of sugar cookies. There were bound to be allergies so it was best to go with something classic. The other two returned with arms full of boxes, two boxes of sprinkle covered cookies in Anya’s and four things of lemon glazed cakes in Winn’s. The pair looked at each other questioning the other’s choice and Kara burst into laughter.

“I’m paying for this so don’t judge me,” Winn said as he put the cakes in the cart. He took Anya’s cookies to put them in as well and the small girl took back her place standing between Kara and the cart. “So, what next?”

Kara pulled out her phone and pulled up her grocery list. She frowned as she looked at the prices of the cookies and wondered if she could forgo cereal and eggs this week. “Let's get the fixings for Anya’s lunch and then some stuff to make for dinner. I think I should stock up on children’s cold medicine, too, just in case.” Winn nodded and they quickly moved through the store to grab what they needed, Kara catching her daughter before the little blonde could grab something extra. She didn’t have the heart to tell her child that they couldn’t afford it, the cookies for themselves toeing the line as is.

Still, allowing a bag of Goldfish into the cart, the Kryptonian paid for everything besides the things Winn grabbed and soon the trio were making their way up the stairs of the apartment building with their haul. The door of Astra’s apartment opened and Kaeki’s head poked out before the girl came out into the hall to take a bag from Anya. Kara sighed as she glanced into the open apartment to try to find her aunt only to see no one inside. “She is in the shower,” Kaeki told her as Anya handed her copy of the keys to Winn so he could open the door. “Apparently, she was in need of a cold one after spending time with one of the humans.” She tilted her head as she looked at Winn and added, “Hello, human.”

Kara internally groaned as she entered her apartment, not wanting to hear about the implications of her aunt taking a cold shower. She ignored the stare off between Winn and Kaeki as Anya skipped over to put her bag of food down before going straight for the box of cookies. “Hey, not before dinner,” Kara told her as she set her own bags down. “Help me put things away and then we will order food.” As she put things away, she heard a little grunt of frustration along with a soft ‘aww’ and she turned to see Anya trying to fly with an upset look on her face. “Winn, you know where things go, help. You too, Kaeki, if you are staying.” The Twilae looked at her friend before giving her a small hug and leaving, a chuckle softly passing Kara’s lips as she knelt down beside her daughter.

“I can’t fly,” Anya mumbled as Kara took off her glasses. “I want to help but it’s too high.”

The older blonde lifted the child into her arms and shifted her so that she could grab something from the countertop. “How’s this? Just like flying, right? I’ll take you flying tomorrow on the roof of the building if you still don’t have your powers back and I’ll even do some loops.” Anya turned to beam at her and Kara placed a kiss on her cheek before setting her on the counter. “Now, hand me stuff so we can get some food in our bellies.”

Winn whooped and both blondes gave him a similar questioning look. “Okay, that’s weird,” he said as he pointed between the mother daughter pair as Anya handed Kara something to put away. “I still can’t process it all, to be honest, but I can see it. It explains all of your mom clothes.”

“‘Mom clothes’?” Kara asked as she put the last thing away and pulled out some frozen fish sticks. “Start this,” she said tossing the bag to Winn so she could get the mashed potatoes and broccoli out. “I do not wear mom clothes. What even are mom clothes?” Winn shrugged and she could tell he just didn’t want to answer. “Fine,” she surrendered as she took out the butter. “Anya, sunshine, you wanna get down to pick out some movies?”

The little blonde nodded and Kara paused what she was doing to set her daughter on the ground, watching as she raced over to their selection of movies. “She’s really precious, isn’t she?” Winn asked and Kara smiled at him, her heart full of happiness at the thought of her daughter finally with her, even with all the issues she was dealing with. “You know, if Lucy or Astra can’t watch her, I could. I was really good with the younger kids in foster care so I’m used to dealing with children.”  
“You would do that for me?” Kara asked as she stuck the broccoli in the microwave. “Winn, that would be a lot of help, I’m going to have to start working weekends at Catco to make up for lost hours during the week so I could really use another set of hands especially since Lucy has gotten busy at work with some cases and is working on being officially transferred over to the city DEO headquarters from the desert base.” Winn smiled at her and she felt relief wash over her. Things might actually work out. It would all work out and she could do this. She had amazing friends and supportive ones too. It would all be okay.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~

 

If there was something Kara was not prepared for as the mother of a young child, it was dealing with more than one child of the same age while her mind was on high alert. Her eyes struggled to stay with the energetic Anya as she skipped around the classroom and played with her friends. All she wanted to do was look to the floor to avoid looking at Marcus. Of course, he would be there with his wife Mandy the stupid class mom. What even was a class mom? She could have been the class mom.

“Mommy, this is Maddy,” Anya introduced as she bounced in front of Kara holding the hand of a little girl who looked like the two adults across the room. Kara’s chest tightened at the sight of Anya’s half-sister and she resisted the urge to take her daughter and leave. A giant smile made its home on the little blonde’s face and the Kryptonian couldn’t dare take her daughter from something that made her so happy.

“Hi, Maddy,” Kara greeted as she crouched down to be at eye level with the two girls. “Are you having fun?” Something inside her filled with ice at the stormy look Maddy was giving her. Her eyes flickered over to Marcus and Mandy as they stood on the other side of the room, a smirk on Marcus’ face as he watched and a frown on Mandy’s as she whispered to him. “Why don’t you two go play some more? I’ll be right here if you need me, Anya.”

The two girls bounded off and Kara stood up as she sighed, looking away from the couple across the room. “First time at one of these things?” a man asked as he came over to her carrying a plate of cookies. The blonde nodded, eyes locked onto Anya as she wrapped her arms around herself, and he chuckled as he took a bite of the cookies. “You seem tense, not a social butterfly?”

Kara laughed weakly and shook her head. “I’m one of the most social people I know,” she told him as she turned to him. “It’s just nothing. I’m Kara, by the way. Anya’s my daughter.” She held out her hand and smiled at him, watching as he put the plate on a desk to shake her hand. He mumbled something around the cookie in her mouth and she laughed before asking, “Can you repeat that? You kinda have something in your mouth.”

The man laughed and took his hand back to gesture to one of the boys in the classroom. “My name is Louis and Jacob is my son. I think I’ve heard of your kid from him.” Louis looked at his boy and Kara turned to look for Anya but didn’t see her. Panic must have showed on her face because a hand touched her arm and she turned to look at the man. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see Anya,” Kara murmured as she looked around. She glanced at the couple across from her, unmoved, and found Maddy talking to her parents. Alone. “She’s not here,” she murmured as she headed for the door. She hardly heard Louis ask where she was going as she entered the hall of the school building and lowered her glasses to scan the building for her daughter. A Kryptonian curse left her lips as she ran through the hall towards the two things that made the alarms in her head even louder and the one missing thing that made her panic. It had been a half day, only the lower grades throwing parties for the parents while most other grades had left, so the halls were empty except for the girl on the ground next to a broken pair of glasses. “Kaeki,” Kara said as she pulled out her phone to call Alex. “Kaeki, what happened?”

The girl was crying as she clutched what Kara discovered was Anya’s jacket. Rage filled her body as she vaguely heard Alex’s voice on the phone. She knelt down to pick up Anya’s glasses and noticed a yellow stone on the floor, glancing at Kaeki to notice the tattoos on her arms visible through the sleeves of her uniform and turning a pale grey color. “Alex, I need you.” Her voice was thick with tears she was holding back and rage. Someone took her baby and that person would pay. “They- they took Anya and they did something to Kaeki. Please, Alex, I-”

“You might want to move that rock away from the space fox,” a terrifyingly familiar voice advised. Kara whipped around from where she knelt on the floor and her whole body tensed as she moved over to Kaeki, getting between the trembling girl and the man who made her own body tremble. “It’s hurting her, like a certain green rock that can hurt you. You should get her away from it.”

Kara moved to pick up Kaeki and stood, backing away as she glared at the man. “You did this,” she murmured as she held the Twilae protectively. “Why? Why do any of this? She’s just a child!” Her voice shook in rage and her eyes burned. It took everything inside of her not to kill him and she knew it was him behind it all. The girl in her arms whimpered and Alex’s voice was growing insistent as she ordered the blonde to get to the DEO. They took her baby, they took her Anya, and she did nothing to save her.

With a frustrated growl at Marcus’ silent, smug smirk, she took off and flew to the DEO, the girl in her arms relaxing as soon as they got out of range of the rock. She didn’t even stick around longer than it took to put Kaeki in her sister’s arms and change into her suit. Alex’s voice asked questions in her ears as she scanned the city for her daughter. Every fiber of her being was on edge as she listened, looked, and searched everywhere. It was impossible for them to have gotten too far in such a short amount of time. She had only looked away for a minute. It had just been a minute.

“ _KARA_!” Alex shouted in her ear causing the heroine to pause in the air. Was the crying she heard coming from herself or her sister? The blonde lifted a hand to her face and felt wetness on her cheek. “ _Kara, listen to me. We have every team looking for Anya. I need you to calm down and come back to the DE-_ “

“ _Mommy. Mommy, I’m scared. Mommy._ ”

Kara’s ears picked up the sound of her daughter’s frightened sobs coming from the warehouse district and she turned in the air to look on that direction, trying to hear her baby’s heart but all she heard was the pounding of her own. “Alex, I heard her. I heard Anya. Warehouse district,” the distraught mother told her sister as she took off in the direction her child’s voice had come from. As she flew, it felt like her whole world had stopped. Even she felt frozen, her speed not fast enough and she herself not strong enough. Everything was crumbling down around her and every fear she had was coming true. Anya was gone, they took her. And Marcus had something to do with it. A sob formed a lump in her throat as she spotted the DEO vehicles below her and flew lower as they came to their destination.

Kara didn’t even stop to listen to whatever plan had been devised, she just wanted her daughter back. Her precious, innocent, sweet, bright Anya. Her sunshine. The sound of her bursting through the lead lined wall of the warehouse she heard Anya’s voice from echoed along with the pounding in her ear. She would save her daughter, she would.

Only the warehouse was empty. It was completely bare except for a laptop at the center of the spacious area and the DEO agents coming into the structure. “ _Mommy,_ ” Anya’s voice cried. Kara landed and rushed over to the laptop. Alex came up behind her as the blonde pressed a hand over her mouth at the video playing on the screen. The little girl was in a room only furnished with a sink, mattress, and a blanket and she sat curled up in the corner on the mattress crying. Something inside Kara shattered as she staggered back at the sight of her baby scared and out of reach. “ _I want my mommy._ ”

Anya wasn’t there. She wasn’t at the warehouse. A strangled cry erupted from Kara’s throat as she fell to knees before the laptop, tears rolling down her face. It was a heart wrenching cry, something belonging to one who had just lost everything. Another cry left her lips and heat left her eyes to tear through the wall of the warehouse as the raw emotions inside of her became too much for her shattering heart. She had no idea where her daughter was, no clue where to start looking. No, wait, she did. The expression of pure despair on her face shifted to that of rage. “Marcus,” she snarled as she stood up. He had been smirking the entire time, during the whole party in her direct line of sight. Kara looked at the laptop, at her daughter, and her rage grew. Her eyes glowed again, her heat vision not activating immediately this time, and she balled her hands into tight fists as she listened for the man.

“Kara, we’ll find her,” Alex murmured trying to comfort her. The brunette didn’t dare touch the blonde, her tense body trembling as raw anger coursed through her. Then, something snapped inside of the blonde as her breath hitched in her throat and she began to fall apart. “Kara, what’s wrong? What did you hear?”

“They planned this,” Kara mumbled in a daze. “Everything. The rape, the kidnapping, all of it. I only delayed it by leaving her with the Kents and not telling anyone. They wanted to make me into a monster while giving them their own living weapon.” The tears burned her eyes as her arms wrapped around herself as a despair filled scream bubbles up from her throat and fell out as heat left her eyes to further destroy the warehouse wall. Everything was shattering, crumbling, coming apart. The ground met her knees again and she didn’t care that there were agents watching. Didn’t care that she was having a meltdown and becoming what they wanted. The scream shifted into sobs as she wrapped her arms around herself and cried. Cried because she had been raped on purpose with intent for her to get pregnant. Cried because she lost one of the most precious people in her life. Cried because it hurt and felt like everything was falling apart. She would kill them, kill them for what they did to her and kill them for taking her baby.

Arms wrapped around her as Alex murmured comforting words in her ear and rubbed at her back. Anya was on the screen still, crying while she sat alone and scared, and when asked moved to close the laptop a shaky hand stopped her. “Kara, we need to take it to the DEO to figure out where the stream is coming from,” she told the blonde. “We’ll find her. I’ll send a team to go find Marcus and bring him in and we _will_ find her.” Kara let out a shaky breath as she tried to stand before falling back onto the ground, all the energy drained from her body. “Shit, Kara,” Alex cursed as the blonde collapsed and everything went dark.

 

“Mommy,” Anya whimpered as she sat on the mattress in the corner of the room, arms on her knees to hide her face. There was a camera in the corner of the room near the ceiling and the door was metal with a slot in it and a small window. She had seen Kaeki outside the classroom and had wanted to invite her into the classroom, only when she went into the hall she had found her friend fighting with bad adults Kaeki told her were part of CADMUS. The older girl had told her to run and she did but someone grabbed her, injecting her with something that made her fall asleep. When she had woken up, she was in the room she was in with an adult lady doing a checkup like Aunt Lexie had.

The door opened and a man walked in, his arm shiny and made of metal. The frightened girl scooted back further into the corner and her breathing grew ragged as wide blue eyes stared at the man. “Hey, it’s okay,” he told her, kind and familiar eyes looking softly at her. He looked back into the hall behind him before closing the door as he came into the room, staying out of sight of the camera. “I’m going to help you,” he told her as he squatted down, glancing at the camera to make sure he was out of sight. “I know your Mommy and your Aunt Alex and your grandma.”

“You do?” Anya asked as she relaxed slightly. The man pulled out a stuffed bear and tossed it over onto the mattress. She looked at it and squinted, trying to see if her powers were back to see if something was wrong with the toy. She moved to pick it up and poked at it to see if it was okay. “Who are you? How do you know Mommy and Aunt Lexie?”

The man smiled and pulled out a picture from his pocket to show her. It looked like a younger version of her mother and aunt and he put it back in his pocket after she got a look. “Your Aunt Lexie is my daughter and me and your Grandma Eliza adopted your mommy. I’m your Grandpa Jeremiah.” Anya relaxed a bit more and slowly started to uncurl. He was her grandpa? But he was with the bad people. Unless he was a spy and was really a good guy. “I know it’s scary and the bad people are going to do bad things, but I’ll be doing all I can to get you back to your mommy. You’ll need to be strong, okay? Be brave like your mommy and aunt and it will all be okay. They are watching me and will hurt you, your mommy, or your aunt if I try to get you out myself or I would.” He looked at the camera and Anya did so as well. The lady who had given her a checkup, a Ms. Lillian, told her her mommy was watching and so were her people.

“Mommy will find me,” Anya sniffled as she held the bear close to her. “Mommy will get me and save me.” Tears rolled down her face as she began to cry again and her grandpa stood before giving her one last glance as he left promising to come back soon. “Mommy. I’ll be brave and strong like you. So please, save me, Mommy.”


	13. Chapter 13

There was an emptiness to the world with Anya gone. It was as if the whole world had gone grey and the only color was the image of her daughter on the laptop screen. For the past week, Kara had been left unable to do anything after her solar flare and her powers still gone. Lucy had gotten Kara off work, probably telling Cat it was family related because no one questioned it including Snapper. Everyone began to be hesitant and gentle around her, as if she could break if they simply spoke too loudly. It was getting annoying. What made it all worse is that they had no clue where Anya was. The video feed was still up and some days all Kara would do was watch. The first few days all Kara did was lie in bed and watch as she cried. After that, she went to the DEO and did everything she could to try to get her powers back. In the end, nothing worked and so she simply continued watching as she listened in on Alex, Winn, and the other agents working on getting Anya back.

“Did she get a jacket?” Alex asked as she entered Kara’s apartment with Chinese food. Lucy stood up from where she had been sitting next to Kara on the couch and went to go get drinks from the fridge. “Lucy told me,” she added before Kara could ask how she knew. The redhead set the bag on the coffee table and glanced at the laptop on the blonde’s lap. “Wait, isn’t that your jacket from when you were sixteen? The one that went missing.”

Kara shrugged and pretended not to notice how Lucy and Alex glanced at one another. What did they expect her to do when she was powerless with her own daughter missing and being filmed just to mess with her? The daughter that had been planned by CADMUS for her to have just so that they could do this. “They haven’t taken her from the room since the feed has been up,” she muttered as Lucy returned with sodas. “Hopefully my powers come back before they manage to do something to her.”

“I smelled the food of the Chinese,” Astra announced as she entered the apartment with Kaeki trailing behind her. The Twilae was still not fully recovered from her attempt to stop CADMUS from taking Anya and she looked just as depressed as Kara. Winn and James soon came in as well, the group thinking a Movie Night would do some good. “Did you get the extra potstickers, Alexandra?” Grey eyes ignored the sharp look from Alex and instead watched worriedly as Kaeki went straight towards the sleeping area and closed the curtain.

“She’s taking it hard,” Lucy observed as she sat next to the other DEO agent. “Speaking of that, Kara, can we put the laptop down for just a night? Everyone is doing everything they can. Desert base, urban base, even Maggie is out with Zelo looking underwater. Just one night, okay?” She nudged Alex and the redhead held out her hands for the device. “Please?”

The blonde handed over the laptop to her sister and stood to go check on her daughter’s best friend, not feeling up to eating anything. She pushed past the curtains to see Kaeki lying on the bed as she stared at the pictures of Anya that hanged on the wall. The Twilae didn’t react to her walking in and Kara noticed she was wearing Anya’s jacket, which surprisingly fit her well, though it was much larger on the small blonde. “Astra will not let me aid in the search for Anya,” the pale girl murmured as she continued to stare. The Kryptonian sat on the bed and the girl sat up to lean against her. Wetness dropped onto the Kryptonians skin as she put her arms soothingly around the child. “It’s my fault. I could not stop them. If only I had been stronger.” Hot tears bled through her shirt as the young girl cried against her, clearly still blaming herself for everything.

Kara ran her fingers through messy hair and let the child cry against her. If it was anyone’s fault that Anya had been taken it was her own. She was her mother, it was her job to protect her child. But she had failed and now Anya was alone where they would do who knows what to her in a place no one knew the location of. More than ever, the blonde wanted to rip apart the people who were doing this. To show no mercy for them taking her baby. She just wanted her baby girl back. Wanted her home.

“It’s not your fault, Kaeki,” Kara murmured softly as she leaned back slightly to look at the girl. “You did everything you could, but they are adults. I know you are older than any human, but you aren’t an adult right now. They have technology that can even hurt me so the fact you didn’t get severely hurt is a show of how strong you are.”

“But I could not save Anya,” Kaeki protested as she wiped at her eyes.

“Kara!” Winn called out. “You need to see this.”

The blonde looked at the curtains separating her sleeping area from the rest of the apartment and then back at the young girl still snuggling. “You can stay in here if you want,” she murmured as she gently wiped away tears from pale cheeks. Getting off the bed, Kara quickly moved into the the rest of the apartment where Winn, Alex, and Lucy were huddled around the laptop. James and Astra were whispering softly to each other in the kitchen glancing every so often at her, James looking prepared to dart out. “What is it Winn?”

Alex stood at the sound of her voice and the room grew quiet except for soft singing coming from the laptop speakers. It was the first time audio had accompanied the video since they first found it and the blonde tensed as she rushed over to listen. Before she even rounded the couch, Alex stopped her and the two sisters looked at each other for a moment. “I think she knows you are watching, so just keep that in mind,” the brunette told her.

Kara took in a shaky breath as she nodded and moved past her sister to sit between her two friends. Each day had been the same, Anya curled up on the mattress with the bear she had gotten from someone and now the the jacket. They fed her, which Kara was thankful for, but otherwise it was just the same thing. As she looked at the screen, her hand went to her mouth as she listened to what was coming from the speakers. Her baby was singing with her bear hugged close to her tiny body and her head was angled so she was singing to someone else. But it was the song Kara had sung to her every time she put Anya down for a nap, to sleep, every time she got sick or hurt. The words sung by the tiny child were Kara’s rendition of _Can’t Help Falling in Love_. It was the song she sang most besides _You Are My Sunshine_ and it was the one she had sung while she was pregnant.

“Anya,” Kara breathed as she listened to her daughter sing. As soon as the words left her lips, the singing stopped and the child perked up as she looked around. Could she hear her? Kara had no clue if the others reacted to the singing having stopped, all she knew was that she might be able to speak to her baby girl. “Anya?”

“Mommy?” Anya questioned as she looked around. Another voice, too soft for Kara to hear, must have spoken because Anya glanced back in the direction she had looked when she had been singing. “What do you mean I shouldn’t be able to hear Mommy?”

“Anya, baby, who is there with you?” Kara asked ignoring the hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? I love you so much. I’m going to come get you when I can, I promise.” Words fell from her lips as the fear that was the only chance she had to speak to her daughter while she was in that room filled her stomach and twisted it into knots. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped furiously at them so that she could clearly see the mini blonde.

“I’m with her, Kara,” a familiar voice told her. Jeremiah. Alex gasped behind her and the hand on her shoulder tightened. “I’ll keep her safe but there’s only so much longer they are willing to wait before they test her powers. She got them back yesterday so they are eager to see what she can do.” The man she knew as her foster father remained outside the camera’s view, but Kara could only focus on her daughter as she looked at the laptop screen. “They know you lost your powers. They are going to try to move her before you can find the facility we are at now. I can’t say more but I’ll do all that I can for my grandchild.”

Anya was crying in her corner and Kara wanted nothing more than to go straight to her baby to comfort and protect her. “Anya, I’m going to get you,” she told her daughter. Her voice was surprisingly steady, not revealing the fact tears were rolling down her cheeks at an alarming rate. “I promise I will find you.” Suddenly, the screen went black and a strangled sob fell from her lips as she stared at the device that was her only link to Anya. It was as if she had lost her daughter again and a broken sob fell from her lips as she closed her eyes. Someone left her side, speaking words she didn’t understand, as two pairs of arms wrapped around her. Of of the arms pulled her closer to what she recognized as Alex’s shoulder and all Kara could do was cling to her sister.

“Shhh, I’ve got you,” Alex murmured softly into her hair. “Winn is going to try to reconnect the video feed and Astra just left with James to go see if there’s any progress.” The redhead ran her fingers through blonde locks and hummed a Kryptonian lullaby Kara had taught her. “We’ll find her, I promise. We’ll bring her back to you.”

It felt like her heart was being torn from her chest agonizingly slow. It was hard to breath and it felt like she was dying. If only she had found a way to keep Anya a secret longer, if only Marcus didn’t have so much power over her. It was her fault Anya had been taken. It was her fault the light of her life was gone. Tears flowed heavier down her face as she clung to her sister as someone else rubbed her back. She could tell it was Lucy but all she could do was sob brokenly as they tried to console her.

It had been days since she had eaten, since she had slept. She hadn’t felt the side effects before, not while she was preoccupied with watching Anya on the laptop, but it felt like she was completely drained as she leaned against Alex. Her stomach alerted the others to the fact it hadn’t been fed in days and the blonde felt Lucy stand up to fetch the Chinese food that had been brought.

“Hey, why don’t we watch a movie?” Alex asked as she brushed back Kara’s hair. “It can be a romcom like you always beg me to put on.” All Kara could think of was her daughter and the potstickers being gingerly placed on her lap. When the blonde made no move to touch the food and the sobbing had stopped out of pure exhaustion, Alex searched her sister’s eyes to see the emptiness on Kara’s face. “Kara, you need to eat. You need to sleep. You wonder why your powers aren’t back and I feel like this might be a reason.” The harsh words drew a soft ‘Alex’ from Lucy but the older woman ignored the soft protest. “No, she needs to face reality. It’s been a week, Kara, and yes Anya was taken, but the Kara I know wouldn’t just lie in bed all day wasting away. She would do what she could to get her child back.”

Kara sat back away from her sister and glared at the woman. The agent had no clue what she was going through. The child who had lived beneath her heart, had lived inside of her, for nine months had been taken right from under her nose. Her _daughter_ was being held in some unknown place that no one could find and all she could do was watch a video of her in the tiny room she was in. To say Kara was heartbroken was an understatement. She was crushed, heart ripped out and smashed before her eyes. Anger coursed through her veins but no words to express it left her lips, only a loud rumble of her stomach. She opened the container on her lap and stuffed her face full of potstickers in a rage.

“Pu’ ‘n ‘ov’,” Kara snapped around the food in her mouth. She ignored the smirk on Alex’s lips and the stifled giggles from Lucy as she put another potsticker in her mouth. The sound of Winn typing away at the laptop was drowned out by the sound of the movie Alex put on from the selection on Netflix. Minutes into the movie, Kaeki emerged slowly and sat silently on Lucy’s lap as she curled up against the woman. Things were starting to feel better with food in her stomach and a good movie on, but there was still a giant hole in her heart. “I’m going to find Anya,” she said with determined finality, as if she rather die than not live up to her words.

“I know you will,” Alex murmured as she leaned against her sister. “She knows it too.”

Lucy ran her fingers through dark hair and nodded as she looked at the child on her lap. “Alex is right,” she said softly. She leaned forward to grab the carton of Chinese food from the coffee table she must have brought over for Kaeki and handed it to the alien girl. “Anya is your daughter so she is strong and she’ll be brave for you. She knows you’re coming and you will save her, Kara.” Resting a cheek against dark hair, Lucy rubbed circles into the girl’s back and added, “Anya knows you will come help too, Kaeki.”

There was a low hum from the child on Lucy’s lap and Kara slowly chewed the food in her mouth. She wished it never had to come to Anya having to be brave or strong. It was her job to keep bad things from hurting her baby. Instead, Anya was suffering mostly alone unless Jeremiah was there to keep her company. Anger boiled up inside her, not only aimed at CADMUS, but at herself as well. At the powers that had yet to return even though it had been a week. A week without being able to fly around to find her daughter. She had no clue if Kal was helping and she had no clue if Lena knew or not, the blonde not being able to bring herself to see the brunette. As if the thought of the Luthor had summoned her, the phone on the coffee table where the blonde had left it days ago began to buzz and Kara leaned over to pick it up. It just had five words, but those five words filled her veins with fire and made her bones buzz with energy. _I know where she is._ The phone cracked in her grip as power coursed through her veins and the blonde stood up before using her newly returned super speed to change into her Supergirl suit and fly off at top speed to Lena’s office.

“I’m coming, Anya.”


End file.
